Dragonball NGE
by Nate Z
Summary: Angels Saga - Plan B: No sooner than Goku departs for New Namek to restore his fallen comrade than the newest Angel arrives. An Angel twice as dangerous as any before it. Literally.
1. Angels Prologue: Nightmare

**Author's Note/Foreword:**

This is a continuation of my DBZ story, "School Of Hard Knocks." This is still AU, so again if you don't like those, please leave. See the AN in "Hard Knocks" for further instructions.

Also, this story's first saga will essentially be DBZ meets NGE (as you may have guessed from the title), with a lot of TMB ("Tekkaman: Blade") elements thrown into the mix. Expect a lot of nods and references to other Animes and stuff also (the previews, for example, are inspired by "Trigun"). I'm not putting it in the crossover section because I'm only really using ideas from the other series. Goku won't be bumping into Shinji or D-Boy on the street or anything like that. Yes, I'm using the Radam and the Angels, but both are quite different from their origin series. I don't think this qualifies as a crossover, but if I'm wrong, feel free to let me know. In any case you have been warned.

Oh, and yes, I did come up with a new meaning for "NGE" in case you were wondering. However, I won't tell you what it is until I find a way to cleverly work it into some dialogue.

Thank you and enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Pretty much the same as last time, 'cept the college took my G1 toys . . . sniffle

Darcon's scream of agony could be heard for miles as his armor suddenly exploded. The beaten and broken monster underneath continued to scream as lightning-like energy expanded from his body, trapping him in a dome. As his body started to break apart, he found the strength to speak:

"**FINE!! TAKE YOUR VICTORY WHILE YOU CAN!! SOON, MY ANGELS WILL COME TO AVENGE ME!! THEY'LL DESTROY YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS DAUGHTER!! THEY'LL TAKE FROM YOU EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR!! _FOR THE GLORY OF THE RADAM!!_**"

Brick woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. Quickly, he got out of bed and ran down the hall. As quietly as he could, he opened the bedroom door and took a peek inside. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Eva was still in her bed, sound asleep. Even now, at the age of 15, she still clutched tightly onto Kongy the "teddy monkey."

Smiling, Brick closed the door and leaned against the wall outside. "Thank God," he whispered.

He'd had the nightmare almost every night for ten years now, and he checked her bed every time. She was almost always there. The few times she wasn't, it was because she had stayed out late with Goten and Trunks and had simply spent the night in the Sons' guest room.

_The Sons,_ Brick thought with a smile. _Thank God for them. I don't think I would've been able to do this without them. When , Yui's **clone** died, I was afraid Eva would grow up without a family. They made sure she didn't._

Brick's expression grew dark as he remembered the revelation that his wife had been a clone of the woman he really loved. _Makes me sick just thinking about it. That...that **thing** lied to me for half my life! Used me right along with her master._

He sighed and shook his head. _That was ten years ago,_ he reminded himself. _Move on._

He knew he should try to get back to sleep. It was a big day tomorrow: Eva's first martial arts tournament. However, he knew from experience that sleep was impossible to regain after that dream. He'd head back to his room, put on some day cloths, go outside and make sure he could still Ascend and Transcend. Throughout the entire process, he'd try to convince himself that the nightmare was just that: a bad dream.

_If these "Angels" were really gonna attack, they would've done so a long time ago._

_....Right?_


	2. The Color Of Blood

**The Color Of Blood**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Champion of the First Annual Orange County Martial Arts Tournament, teen division! Eva Stone!"

Eva tried not to grin too widely as the announcer raised her arm up and the crowd cheered. However, she found herself lost in the moment. She even went so far as to rest her foot on the battered and bruised Goten. She was on such a natural high that the next thing she clearly remembered was changing out of her orange Gi into a tan sun dress. Coming out of girls' locker room, she found her father talking with Goku, Goten and Trunks. She then slipped into a habit she had yet to outgrow from her early childhood.

"DADDY!!"

Brick looked up just in time to see his pride and joy dive at him. He quickly braced himself and therefore was only knocked back a couple steps when Eva collided with him and hugged him tightly. "Congratulations, darlin,' " he said after the wind returned from being knocked out of him.

"Pathetic. Your teenage daughter has more strength than you. And you call yourself a Saiyan."

The group turned toward Vegeta, who had apparently arrived within the last thirty seconds. Also apparent was the fact Eva was quite happy to see him.

"UNCLE VEGGIE!!"

While Brick was able to brace for impact, the Saiyan Prince wasn't, and was knocked flat on his back as Eva glomped him.

"You were saying?" Brick asked, smiling.

"I said shut up Rokkon!!"

"He was admitting how he underestimated that girl of yours Brick," Goten said rubbing his chin. "She's got a mean left hook."

Eva immediately bolted to her feet and held Goten's hands. "Oh, I'm sorry Goten. I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

"Naw, not really," Goten said, giving her a smile. "Just my pride."

"What pride?" Trunks said, doing an impressive imitation of Vegeta's trademark smirk. It could be scary how much he resembled his father at times.

Goten just waved his friend off. "Oh, your just upset I finally got you back for cheating back at that other tournament."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Jeez, are you still going on about that? What were we, like seven?!"

"And we agreed before we even got there not to go Super Saiyan!"

"You did it too!"

"...That's not the point, and you know it!"

"You're right. The point is you're a total wimp that got beaten up by a girl and can't let go of a stupid grudge!!"

"This 'wimp' beat the snot out of you! What's that say about _your_ combat skills?!"

"Shut up! If I could've gone Super, I would've kicked your ass!!"

"So you admit you cheated!!"

"All right guys," Goku said as he put a hand on each of the young half-Saiyans' shoulders. "Break it up. I think we can still catch Pan's last match."

"Yes, let's go," Vegeta said, leading the march toward the junior division of the tournament. "Perhaps Kakarott's brat's runt will provide some decent entertainment." The others eventually followed, Trunks and Goten still arguing. Eva listened to them, and laughed.

The three teenage demi-Saiyans had grown inseparable over the ten years since they first met. Trunks had grown up into a mirror image of his future self. At first this seemed to upset him. He claimed it was because it meant that he wasn't in charge of his own destiny. However, when he found out Future Trunks had been a "total badass" (based on what all the others told him), he no longer had any problems with it. In fact one could say he was imitating himself, right down to the Capsule Corp. jacket and even shopping at Swords Online.

Goten had grown into a teenage version of his father in terms of physical appearance. There were times when it seemed he had his father's level of maturity as well, but for the most part, he acted his age (17). Which meant, video games, comics books, (mass quantities of) junk food and hanging out with Eva and Trunks. He liked to fight of course, but it was just a hobby as far as he was concerned. It seemed he enjoyed arguing with Trunks much more than actually sparring with him.

Of course, Eva had changed the most noticeably out of the three of them. She was almost as tall as her two friends and had a full figure. She had started training almost as soon as she and her father were "adopted" by the Sons, and therefore acquired a modest but impressive physique. She was also quite bright, having been taught by Bulma and Chi-Chi, rather than the Satan City school system. Like Trunks and Goten, she also acted the way one would except a teenager to act. However, there were times (as we just saw), when she still had the energy and hyperactivity of a five year old.

"Granpa Brick!!"

Brick just sighed and allowed himself to be glomped by the youngest demi-Saiyan, Pan. She had grown into a strong young girl of ten. While she normally wore an orange Gi for tournaments and the like, she was now dressed in her regular attire: red short sleeved shirt, faded blue jeans with a chain connecting two of the belt loops, black sneakers with matching fingerless gloves, and, finally, a bright orange bandanna around her head. She had big, bright, black eyes and black hair that came down to her neck. While Trunks had inherited the Royal Smirk, Pan had gotten the Son Grin.

"Oomph!" he muttered when he hit the floor. "Hey, Pan," he wheezed as he returned her hug. The girl grinned again and ran off to brag about her victory to her Granpa Vegeta and Auntie Eva.

"I swear Goku," Brick muttered as he got up and dusted himself off, "I'm like some sorta genetic, tackle-magnet!"

Goku grinned. "I guess kids just like you Brick."

Before Brick could respond to that, he was tackled by two teenagers.

"Yeah, you know we love you Brick!" Trunks said in a teasing tone.

"Love ya whole bunches!" laughed Goten.

"Get the hell off of me!!" Brick shouted, lifting them both by their shirt collars as he stood up yet again. "Neither of you are too big for an ass kickin'!!"

He gave one last glare to their grinning faces before setting them down on the ground. He then turned his glare to Goku, who looked like he was about to pass out from laughing so hard.

Trunks, however, stopped laughing quick when Vegeta suddenly grabbed him by the shirt and started to drag him away.

"Boy, you are royalty!" the Saiyan Prince growled to his offspring. "I'll not have any son of mine going around saying he loves another man!"

"Dad, it was just a joke."

"Then it wasn't a very funny one!"

"I think they'd disagree with you on that," Trunks replied, gesturing to Goten, Goku and Brick, who were all on their backs, laughing.

Vegeta saw all this, and a smile slowly spread across his face, making Trunks very nervous.

"Very well. Let's see you make a joke out of one hour of training in the gravity chamber." He then began to drag his son out of the arena.

"What?! A whole hour?! Just because I lost?!"

"That's right you did lose, didn't you? Better make it three hours."

Trunks slapped himself on the forehead.

Vegeta saw this and his smile grew. "What level are you at, boy?"

"550...."

"600 it is!"

Not long after Vegeta had flown away with the protesting Trunks in tow, Gohan and Videl finally arrived to congratulate their daughter.

"MOMMY!! DADDY!!"

"GOHAN!!"

If you need to know who shouted that, you haven't been paying much attention.

Videl kneeled down to intercept Pan's hug and Gohan outdid Brick by only being knocked back one step by Eva.

"Eva, darlin', why do you go so easy on Gohan and not your dear old dad?"

"It's not my fault, Daddy," Eva giggled. "You're just too old. Not like Gohan. He's young and strong..."

Gohan blushed slightly and looked at his daughter. "Sorry we couldn't meet you right away, Panny. Reporters ambushed us, asking if you would sign up for the next World Tournament, seeing as you're the granddaughter of both the former and current world champions..."

"It's okay Daddy!" Pan said as she let go of her mother, pushed Eva aside and hugged her father. "Did you see me win?"

"You know we did!" Videl said proudly. "In fact, why don't you and me go over to the training area and you can show me that flying kick move you did!"

"Sure thing!"

With that, Pan took Videl's hand and practically pulled her toward the designated area.

Gohan watched his wife and daughter go off, and turned to Eva. "Congrats on your win, but that fight with Goten was a bit sloppy on your part."

Eva looked confused. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You left your right side wide open."

"Oh," Eva said, trying not to giggle. "That was just for fighting Goten..."

Now Gohan was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ya see, Goten couldn't have taken advantage of that without hitting my right breast..."

Everyone glanced at Goten, who was trying hard not to look embarrassed. Of course, since he was flourescent red, it wasn't working.

"I don't see what the big deal is though. It's not like he hasn't touched both of them before."

Everyone's eyes shot back to Eva like the crack of a whip.

"That was for Dad," she grinned.

"I'm not listening!" Brick shouted, not fooling anybody.

Eva giggled and then clung onto Gohan's arm. "Don't worry, Gohan. My heart belongs only to you..."

Gohan blushed again and fidgeted a little. "Uh...thanks...."

Eva suppressed her grin in order to pout. "But how come you didn't wear your glasses? They make you look so sexy..."

"Eva, I'm married..."

"It's okay Gohan."

Both Eva and Gohan jumped and looked straight ahead to see Videl standing there, smirk on her face and Pan in her arms. "Videl, I can explain--" they both started.

Videl's smirk changed to a smile. "I said it's okay. Gohan, if you really love Eva, all you had to do was say so. I just ask that you give me visitation rights for Pan."

Eva squealed and glomped onto Gohan's torso, nuzzling into his chest.

Gohan just started to stammer out a series of unintelligible sounds, until he saw Videl was trying hard not to laugh, and failing miserably. "That's not funny," he muttered darkly.

This caused Eva to promptly let go of him and fall onto her back and laugh as well.

Gohan just stormed off. After both of the girls stopped laughing, a very confused Pan poked Videl on the shoulder and asked "Mommy, are you and Daddy getting a divorce?"

"No Panny," Videl said, giving her daughter a reassuring smile. "Me and Auntie Eva were just messing with Daddy's head."

"Oh," Pan said, but it was obvious that she wasn't fully convinced.

"Yeah Pan," Eva said, taking the girl from her mother's arms. "I'm not gonna split you guys up! I love yas too much to do that! It's just a game I like to play with Gohan." She tossed Pan up into the air and caught her. "Now, why don't we all go grab a victory ice cream cone!!"

"ICE CREAM!!" Pan cheered, all troubles long forgotten. She jumped from her Auntie Eva's arms and started to skip away, happily chanting "Number 1!" over and over.

Eva grinned and soon followed suit. Videl shrugged, and then joined in as well.

"Number 1! Number 1! Number 1! Number 1! YAY!!"

Meanwhile, Gohan leaned against a wall, and slid down to the floor, plopping down next to the still bright red Goten.

"Women," Gohan muttered.

"Tell me about it," sighed Goten.

A few hours later, Eva and Brick finally arrived in their fully rebuilt home. After he recovered enough from the events of ten years ago, Brick had set about restoring his property, including rebuilding the house almost exactly the same as it had been. The only difference was that he made Eva's room bigger. To Brick's surprise Mr. Satan again paid for everything. Whatever Gohan had on the man must've been something big.

"That was awesome!" Eva grinned as she dropped down onto the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "I didn't know participating in a tournament would be this much fun! I have **got** to sign up for the World Martial Arts Tournament next time!"

"You were careful, right?" Brick asked as he hung up his leather jacket on a coat rack by the door.

Eva tried not to roll her eyes. "Yes, Dad. I was careful. I only cut loose when fighting with Goten."

Brick chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure he appreciated that."

She giggled. "Hey, it's not my fault! I gave him the perfect opening! Not my fault he's too polite to take it. Manners will get him killed in a real fight."

He laughed. "You sound like Vegeta."

Eva glared at her father, her face twisting into a scowl. "And what," she asked, her voice suddenly deep and gravelly, "pray tell, is wrong with sounding like the Great Vegeta? That is no way to speak of your Prince, Rokkon!"

Brick stared at her daughter, open-mouthed. Eva tried to keep her face as it was, but one look at her father caused her to burst out laughing. Brick shook his head and mock-glared at her.

"Don't ever do that again."

When she was able to catch her breath, she pouted. "Aw, why not?"

"Because that was perfect and quite unsettling."

She beamed with pride. "Say, what's up with Uncle Veggie calling you 'Rokkon' all the time anyway?"

Brick sighed and shrugged. "I have no damn idea. He started calling me that shortly after I destroyed Darcon. I think it's a Saiyan name, but I still don't get it."

"Well, he always calls Goku by his Saiyan name."

"True, but he didn't make up names for Gohan, Goten or Pan."

"He calls them brat, fool and runt respecitivly. And I guess Bulma found a way to convince him that Trunks was acceptable for Saiyan royalty."

"I'll bet she did..."

Eva grinned. "Next time he calls you Rokkon, just call him Veggie. He loves that."

Brick was about to respond to that when none other than Kakarott appeared in the Stone's living room.

"GOKU!!"

Of course, Goku out did everybody and wasn't moved an inch when Eva suddenly attached to him. He did, however, drop the box and envelope he was carrying to hug her back.

"Hey there Eva!" he grinned. "Heya Brick!"

"Hey Goku," Brick said with a smile. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Chi-Chi asked me to give this box to Eva and this letter to you," Goku replied, bending down to pick up what he dropped. "She said Yui left it with her with directions to give it to you two when Eva hit a certain age."

Brick stiffened at the mention of Yui's name, while Eva grew even more excited. She quickly grabbed the box from Goku and savagely tore off the plain wrapping paper.

"When did she leave this with you guys?" Brick asked as he took the letter from his friend.

"The week before we went into the Room of Spirit and Time," Goku replied. "More specifically, when we were out training Eva and not around to know about it."

Brick nodded and just stared at the envelope, which simply had his name written on it in beautiful handwriting.

Goku placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need to talk..."

"I know," Brick said with a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow at the chamber for our spar."

Goku grinned again, the seriousness of the situation apparently forgotten. "Great! Can't wait! Congratulations Eva! See ya!"

And with that, he teleported away.

Brick sighed, shook his head and ripped the envelope open. Inside was a tri-folded letter which he unfolded. Recognizing Yui's handwriting, he read the letter to himself:

_"My dearest Brick,_

_If you're reading this, it means you've done the right thing and destroyed Darcon. It also means you've no doubt learned the truth about where I came from. I know this knowledge has hurt you dearly, but I want, no, NEED you to understand that I love you, and that love is real. I also love Eva, my pride and joy, which is my reason for this letter and her gift._

_Darcon no doubt swore revenge in the form of his "Angels." They will not attack right away, but you must be prepared. Please Brick, you have to trust me. I may have been wrong in keeping this from you for so long, but you needed time to recover from the truth. Eva will learn quickly, it's in her blood, but only if you let her._

_Let her Brick. If not for me or yourself, then do it for HER._

_Love always,  
__Yui"_

Without realizing it, Brick crushed the note when his hand suddenly clenched into a fist. His eyes started to darken, but he closed them and forced himself to calm down. He looked toward his daughter, and was suddenly very afraid.

The gift from "Yui" had been two things. The first was a long, silver, and very sharp lancer with a black grip handle. Eva was standing as if a trance, and carefully trying it out, slowly moving it and twirling it around. Indeed, it did seem she was learning how to use the weapon quite quickly just by making these simple motions.

Seeming to vanish, Brick appeared next to Eva and snatched the lancer out of her hands.

"Hey!" she cried, snapping out of her daze as soon as her new gift was no longer in her grasp. "Gimmie!" She tried to grab it back, but Brick held it above his head and out of her reach, as if she were a small child. She tried to get it back by floating into the air, but Brick followed suit, flying high and away from his daughter.

"Back off, Eva," he growled, letting his eyes turn black for effect.

Eva remained floating above the floor, but crossed her arms and glared at her father.

When he was sure she wouldn't try anything, Brick finally turned his attention to the second part of the gift. It was a strange sort of body suit. It was mostly black, but the hands, lower legs and chest were purple. It seemed to be some sort of body armor, but was draped over the couch as if it was made of fabric. (Evangelion fans, think plug-suit.)

Brick turned back to Eva, who had landed back on the floor, but was still glaring at him. He had his eyes return to their normal color as he asked "Do you know where these came from?"

"They're a gift from my Mommy," Eva said coldly.

"And do you know what your mother was?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for God's sake Dad! It's been ten damn years! Let it go!"

"Answer the question."

Her glare intensified. "She was my mother. Mommy would never hurt me."

Brick dropped back down the floor with a sigh. She had him there. Yui, whatever she was, had never done anything to hurt their daughter. Still, he wasn't quite comfortable with his little girl using weapons from her. Not without precautions.

"Your not using any of this stuff until Bulma checks out every inch of it. You got that?"

"Fine," she spat. "I'll take it with me when I go for my lessons tomorrow."

Brick nodded, and gently handed the lancer back. Eva made a point of being extra overly cautious as she took it from him, folded it in half, and placed it in a scabbard that had come in the box. She then gave a sarcastic bow to her father and flew off to her room.

"By the way!" she shouted as she reached her destination. "If you hate her so much, why do you still wear your hair in a ponytail?!"

She then slammed her door loudly.

Eva loved her father with all her heart, but there were times when she really didn't like him.

The next day:

"This thing is incredible," Bulma said quietly as she looked over Eva's new lancer. She turned her attention back to the computer print out she held in her hand. "It's designed so you can charge it with your Ki, the blade seems sharp enough to cut through just about anything, and this metal is like nothing I've ever seen. Definitely not from the same galactic neighborhood. Eva?"

Bulma turned to her student, only to find she wasn't listening at all. Eva was staring, again as if in a trance, at the small red crystal that was attached to a gold chain and hung from her neck as a necklace. The crystal was an odd shape and encased in gold trim. Seeing this, Bulma realized that while Eva had worn that necklace as long as she could remember, she had no idea where the girl had gotten it.

"Hello? Ground control to Eva Stone!"

With a start, Eva returned to reality and looked up at the older woman. "Sorry Auntie Bulma. I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

Eva seemed to grow a bit sad. "About my Mom..."

Bulma sat down in a chair next to the teenager. "She's the one who gave you that necklace."

Eva nodded. "Auntie Bulma, does Daddy talk about my Mom at all?"

"All the time."

"How does he talk about her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he insult her? Refer to her as 'it'?"

Bulma couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Not when I'm around. Hell, just the other night, me, him and Chi-Chi were talking about whose wedding night was the most awkward."

Eva's curiosity got the better of her. "Who won?"

"Chi-Chi. Apparently Goku didn't know how to consummate the relationship, if you catch my drift."

Eva giggled.

Bulma smiled at her. "Look, kiddo, you gotta understand where your dad is coming from. If you can. Your mom dropped the mother of all bombshells on him."

"I guess. I just don't understand how he can be so cold towards her at some times, and then others act like nothing ever changed between them. I mean, she's still my Mom. I've got human in my DNA and I sure as hell didn't get it from him."

"He's just confused."

"For ten years?!"

"I should think so! Imagine if you found out the Trunks and Goten you know now aren't the same kids you met when you were five. I think Brick is handling this quite well, all things considered."

Eva sighed in defeat. "I still don't like it..."

"No one said you had to. Now let--"

Bulma was cut off when Vegeta suddenly came crashing through one of the lab walls from outside. As they watched the Saiyan Prince slide across the floor, they barely heard Brick yell something about "beating the living shit" out of someone.

"Make fun of Daddy's name again, Uncle Veggie?"

"Silence brat!" Vegeta spat as he picked himself up, rubbing his chin.

Bulma giggled. "Honestly Vegeta, would it kill you just to call him Brick?"

Vegeta grimaced. "Brick is not a name fitting of a Saiyan warrior! And you!" He pointed and glared at Eva. "If you must address me in such an informal matter, you will simply call me Vegeta!"

"Yeah sure," Eva said, nonchalantly. "Whatever you say Uncle Veggie."

Bulma laughed out loud.

Vegeta shot a warning glance towards his wife before turning back to the teenager. "Look at you. Wasting your time with books and numbers, just like Kakarott's brat! You can't even use your Ki properly!"

"I can fly and increase my strength," Eva said, not bothered by Vegeta's apparent frustration with her, "and frankly, that's more than enough. I may not be able to fire power blasts, but that means I don't have to worry about blowing up the city when I lose my temper. Unlike _some_ people I know."

Bulma tried not to laugh again, but failed horribly.

Vegeta didn't even look back at Bulma this time. "You are a _Saiyan_, girl! Ki blasts are as natural to us as breathing! You may be putting yourself in danger of--"

"I am Madar," Eva interrupted, sticking her nose up in the air proudly. "We are much more elegant and graceful than you Saiyans. Our energy is more easily controlled and can be expelled in peaceful, non-destructive ways."

Vegeta crossed his arms and looked away from her, as if in shame. "With that attitude, how do you ever expect to reach your full potential? You could be a Super Saiyan!"

Eva couldn't help but grin evilly at the Prince. "So Uncle Veggie, you reach Level 3 yet?"

Vegeta looked up at the girl in shock, but then his expression slowly changed to an evil grin of his own. "No, not yet. But as soon as you're done with your lesson and Kakarott and Rokkon are done with my gravity chamber, you're going to help me reach that level. Aren't you, brat?"

And with that, Vegeta left the room.

"He's gonna kill you for that one," Bulma sighed at Eva.

The girl simply shrugged. "Spars with him help me think on my feet, not to mention give me one hell of a workout. How do you think I was able to beat Goten? Now, tell me about this armor my Mom gave me..."

About 2 hours later:

"See, what I don't get about your Dad is his sovereignty. If you were him, wouldn't you be glad when Frieza blew up Vegeta-sei? I mean, you'd be king at that point."

"My grandfather was dead before they blew up Vegeta-sei, so shouldn't he have been king already? Shouldn't he be king _now?_"

"Aw, this whole universe is flawed! Like the whole Super Saiyan thing! We turn it on and our power level goes yay high. How's it know when to stop?"

"Um...Ki?"

"Man, that's your answer for _everything._"

Trunks and Goten were outside the Capsule Corp. main building, doing what teenagers do best: stand around and just take up space.

"Look," Trunks sighed. "If you don't like my answers, why don't you ask your best friend."

Goten blinked. "Huh? Who're you talking about?"

"You know, black hair, female, chest almost as big as her attitude."

Goten stared blankly at Trunks, who rolled his eyes.

"She beat the crap out of you yesterday?"

"Eva?!" Goten shouted. "You're nuts man! She's not my best friend!"

"Then who is your best friend?"

There was a long pause as Goten considered this.

"Crap! How'd that happen?"

"Hey guys!" Eva called suddenly, seeming to appear out of no where. "What's up?"

"Nothing!" Goten shouted. Too quickly.

Eva quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" She limped over to him and looked him straight in the face. "What are you hiding from me, Son?"

"Nothing Eva. Why would I hide anything from you?"

"Don't make me kick your ass again," she growled.

"When did you kick it the first time?" Another pause. "Oh, right..."

"He was wondering how the hell you became his best friend, Eva," Trunks replied.

"I hate you," Goten said, glaring at the young Prince.

Eva smirked. "So, you're wondering how you're fortunate enough to have the great Eva Stone as your closest and dearest friend, huh?"

"Now you've done it," Goten said, again glaring at Trunks.

"You brought this on yourself, dude," was Trunks' reply.

Eva continued, apparently ignoring the two boys. "Well, I'll tell you! Who stayed up late all night, helping you study when she could be out having her way with all the cute guys at the clubs?"

"Hey, I didn't even ask you to do that!" Goten protested.

"That's right!" Eva shouted, bopping him on the head with her fist. "I did out of the goodness of my heart!"

"You mean that black thing between your boobs?" Goten grinned.

She narrowed her eyes and bopped him again. Harder.

"Ow!"

"Or what about when you hit puberty in a really bad way?" Eva asked. "Who bailed you out of that awkward moment when you blurted out a proposal to Miss Katsuragi?"

"By telling her I was in Special Ed!"

"Hottie Katsuragi?!" Trunks asked in shock. "Our old math teacher?!"

The other two ignored him

"And who plugged nose before it bled all over your homework when she leaned forward to show you how your calculator worked?"

"She wasn't wearing a bra that day..."

bop!

"**OW!**"

"Who taught you how to kiss?!"

Silence.

"You never taught me how to kiss," Goten said finally.

"That's right!" Eva shouted. "And if you keep up this ungrateful attitude, I never will!" She then wacked him hard in the back of the head with enough strength to make him kiss the ground. "And you!" she shouted, turning to glare and point at Trunks. "You just keep your mouth shut, Brief! I'll have you know your father said he actually felt my blows today! Don't you dare say one word about what time of the month it is!"

She looked back down at Goten, muttered "idiot" under her breath, and limped off.

"With friends like these," Goten grumbled as he got back on his feet.

Trunks grinned. "You get your ass kicked daily."

Brick winced slightly as he sat down on a bench in the Capsule Corp.'s massive indoor garden. "I have the highest respect for Goku," he muttered. "He's a great man and a hero. But it's really hard to like a guy when he insists on **beating the crap out of you every week!!**"

Gohan, sitting underneath a tree, looked up from the book he was reading. "Oh hey Brick," he said, adjusting his glasses. "The spar with Dad go okay?"

"For him," Brick replied, shooting a glare towards the younger Saiyan.

Gohan just chuckled and produced a Senzu bean from his pocket. He flicked it to Brick, who caught it and quickly popped it into his mouth. Upon swallowing it, his wounds healed.

"Thanks Gohan," he said as he stood up. He took his leather from the back on the bench and put it on.

"No problem. But I've been meaning to ask you, what exactly is that on your jacket?"

Brick glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. "Oh, that's some character from that cartoon...what was it called? Oh yeah! The Powerpuff Girls. Eva bought it for me 'cause his name is Brick. Speaking of my daughter, does she know you're here?"

Gohan was confused by this question as he watched Brick walk toward the garden's exit. "I don't think so. Why?"

The answer came in the form of Eva's high pitched squeal, followed by Gohan's cry of surprise and the sound of two bodies colliding.

"No reason," Brick grinned as he left the garden.

After leaving the garden, Brick went into the living room and plopped down onto the couch. He turned on the television and started flipping through the channels, soon coming upon an episode of "The Powerpuff Girls." In fact, it was the episode that introduced his "namesake." Chuckling, he decided to give it a try. He was actually finding it quite funny, but about halfway through, it was pre-empted with a special report. Cursing softly, he was about to change the channel, but stopped when he saw exactly was being reported.

"**GUYS!!**" he yelled. "**Get in here!!**" He then raised his Ki to a level that would be sure to get everyone's attention.

Soon, Goku, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Eva, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Vegeta, Pan and Videl all had their eyes glued to the TV screen. They all watched as a massive green monster, the size of a skyscraper, tore through Satan City, destroying property and terrifying the civilians.

"I repeat," the reporter said, "a strange green monster, not totally unlike Godzilla, has appeared out of no where and is destroying Satan City, heading in the direction of the Capsule Corporation. We have been unable to reach Mr. Satan and have had no contact with the Great Saiyaman or Saiyagirl. The army reports that they are on their way, but won't be here for 20 minutes at the very least. So far, there have been no deaths reported--"

"Goten," Brick said softly. "Please kindly take my daughter home and keep her there."

"Hey!" Eva protested. "I'm not going anywhere! Especially if you're gonna go off and fight that thing!"

Brick undid his ponytail and tossed his jacket onto the couch. "It's heading here," he said flatly. "I don't want you anywhere near here when it arrives."

"But what about me?" Goten asked. "I wanna kick some big ugly monster ass too!"

"Yeah!" Trunks added.

Goku shook his head. "I think me, Gohan, Vegeta and Brick can take it by ourselves. But in case we can't, you two should stay in reserve in case we need to summon Gotenks."

"Fine," the Saiyan teens sighed in unison.

"C'mon Eva," Goten sighed, taking the girls hand and walking her outside. Trunks followed.

"You're actually going to go off and fight that thing?" Chi-Chi asked. "No, not again Goku. This has to stop!"

"Relax woman," Vegeta scoffed. "I'll make sure Kakarott doesn't get killed. When he dies--"

"It'll be by your hand. Yeah, yeah," Brick groaned. "We got it Veggie."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan/Madar hybrid. "And after I kill him, you're next Rokkon!"

"So what's the plan?" Gohan asked, rejoining the group after saying a quick-but-heartfelt goodbye to his family. He took off his glasses, revealing a determined look on his face.

" 'Plan'?" Vegeta echoed. "The 'plan,' brat, is that we go meet that thing and blast it into oblivion!"

Vegeta crashed into a building after the creature swatted him like fly. Brick watched as the Saiyan Prince eventually came out the building's other side and created a small crater in the sidewalk below. "Ugly and powerful," he mused as he turned his attention back to the monster.

It was an awkward looking beast. It's main body was oddly proportioned, it's bulk somehow being supported by legs that looked way too skinny to do so, while the arms were long, strong and ended with three fingers. While most of it was a dark shade of green, it did have a few white, bone-like parts on it, including its face. The face was round, except for a sharp point that pointed directly down, and had two blank, black dots for eyes. Other "bones" included protrusions on its shoulders, spikes on its back, and a set of "ribs" cradling a huge, bright red sphere in the center of its torso.

(For those who want a visual reference, this is Evangelion's Third Angel. And for those who, like me, have trouble keeping all the numbers and (strange) names straight, it's the one from the very first episode.)

Brick snapped out of his thoughts when the creature turned its attention to him. With a flash, he Ascended and flew higher into the air, out of its range. Or so he thought.

The creature raised one of its massive arms and pointed it at Brick. A beam of red energy shot out and pierced his shoulder, coming out the other side. Cursing and clutching his wound, he crashed into the sidewalk. He sat up and saw Goku fly up into the creature's face.

"Energy blasts, huh?" the Super Saiyan said, aiming his palm at the creature. "Here's one from a pro!!"

He fired a series of golden energy attacks, but they all deflected harmlessly of its green hide. The beat's eyes flashed white and Goku was suddenly hit with a blast and sent spiraling out of control.

Determined, Brick got back to his feet and strange white energy ball formed in his left hand. "Let's see how this trick works in a real fight!" he shouted before hurling the attack. It hit the ground at the creature's feet, and exploded into the shape of a tall, white cross.

The monster was knocked back, but not off its feet. Like a spring, it shot back into the upright position and looked down at Brick. Again, its eyes flashed white, and the area around him exploded into white fire.

"DADDY!" Eva cried in horror.

She, Trunks and Goten were in the Stones' living room, watching the events unfold on the television. Upon seeing her father consumed by the energy attack, she bolted to her feet, but Goten gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's fine," he said softly. "Look..."

The smoke around Brick was blown away when he unfurled his energy wings and stood up straight. Through his black eyes, he watched as Goku and Gohan flew around the monster, blasting it like mad. Finally, a massive golden beam from Gohan not only knocked the creature down, but sent it skidding down the street for several blocks. The father and son continued to blast the creature until they could no longer see it through the smoke.

Brick flew up to join them and powered up an attack. However, when the smoke cleared and the monster stood back up, Brick saw it differently through his Transcended eyes, and was horrified.

"No," he whispered, getting the attention of the two Sons. "That thing...it's an Angel!"

"Say what?!" Goku shouted.

"You mean this is the revenge Darcon swore?" Gohan asked. "How can you tell?!"

Brick shook his head. "I don't know...but since I'm Transcended, I can see this aura around it. The same kind I saw surrounding Darcon..."

"Well, that's good to know," Goku said as the beast stalked toward them. "But what do we do now that we know?"

"The core!" Brick shouted suddenly. "All of us charge our most powerful attack and aim right at that red circle in its chest!!"

Without another word, all three did just that. The Sons each fired a Kamehameha Wave while Brick launched the same attack that destroyed Darcon ten years ago. It looked like the plan would work, and that the core would be hit and destroyed.

That is, until they all bounced off a strange hexagonal pattern that suddenly appeared in front of the "Angel" and destroyed a building instead.

"**SHIT!!**" Goku screamed in rage. All of this was costing innocent people their lives, but they couldn't afford to be careful.

"Do we have a plan B?" Gohan asked as the beast continued to slowly walk toward them.

"Goku," Brick said with an eerie calm, "how long would it take you charge all the way up to Level 3?"

The other two Saiyans stared at him, while he stared ahead at the monster, who was still getting closer by the second.

"I haven't done it in years," Goku replied, "so about a minute."

Brick nodded. "Gohan, do you think you can keep Fugly over there busy long enough for your dad to do that?"

"I think so," Gohan replied. "Mind telling us what you got planned?"

"I think that as long as I'm Transcended, I can rip through that force field, leaving the core vulnerable. If I can, Goku, you hit it with another Kamehameha."

"Okay, but why do I need to be at Level 3 to do that?"

"Insurance. I don't know how much power'll be needed to break the core. And in case I can't rip the field, you'll need all the power you can get to break through yourself."

"Then let's do it!" Gohan shouted, shooting back at the Angel at his top speed and knocking it back down.

With a nod, Goku started to scream and power up. The energy surges of the process caused more damage to the surrounding buildings and fried all broadcast equipment within a mile radius.

Brick waited patiently, calling as much power as he had and channeling as much as he could spare into his hands. Sensing that Goku's transformation was almost complete, he let loose what sounded like a roar and bolted toward the Angel, and more specifically, the core.

Hearing and sensing Brick coming, Gohan quickly got out of the way. Again, the Angel sprung back upright, doing so just as the Transcended Madar arrived. As he expected, Brick collided hard into the force field, but he ignored the pain and immediately tried to sink his fingers into it. He experienced pain he hadn't felt since Darcon's annual draining of his Ki, but didn't falter for a second.

"For Eva!!" he cried. His fingers finally sunk in and with a cry of both rage and triumph, ripped the field apart.

Just as Goku finished his transformation.

"**_NOW GOKU! DO IT NOW!_**"

"**Ka...Me....Ha....Me....**"

As if understanding what was happening, the monster's black-bot eyes blinked. It then quickly grabbed Brick with one of its huge hands and started to deform. Soon, it had transformed into a large, floating, tightly wound sphere, with Brick inside.

Goku and Gohan stared at the sphere, unsure of what to do. Goku lost the Wave and was about to ask for Gohan's opinion, when the sphere suddenly flashed bright white...

...and exploded.

Father and son crashed hard into the pavement below and watched in horror as more buildings were destroyed and more civilians vaporized. As the smoke started to clear, they both stood up.

"What happened?!" Goku demanded, returning to his normal form.

"I think it self-destructed," Gohan replied softly.

"Brick! Where's Brick?"

As if to answer the question, someone weakly stumbled through the remaining smoke and fell painfully onto his knees. Both turned to see the new arrival.

It was Brick, though they hardly recognized him. All traces his clothes were long gone, atomized, and almost his entire body was horribly burned and scarred. His hair was scorched, even missing in some spots and his eyes were bleeding. His left hand was missing.

"Holy shit," two voices from behind whispered in unison.

Goku turned to glare at Goten and Trunks. "What are you two doing here?"

"We bolted here as soon as the TV signal went out," Goten replied. "It looked like you needed the help."

"Yell at us later!" Trunks shouted. "We gotta get him about 20 Senzu beans! Can you--"

Trunks was cut off when Brick, very hoarsely, managed to speak.

"My daughter," he croaked. "Goku...don't let them get...**my daughter!**"

Brick then fell face first onto the ground, and the four Saiyans watched in horror as his body dissolved into smoke and blew away in the wind.

Later:

Goku froze in mid air as he approached Brick's house. Eva was outside, sparring with the air. He was suddenly unsure he could go through with this. While she was now in her early teens, Goku still saw the little girl that Brick loved so much.

_How do I tell her that the most important person in her life is gone?_ he thought sadly.

Of course, he was forced to think of a way fast as Eva suddenly looked up and saw him floating there.

"Goku!" she called happily, stopping in mid-kick as he forced himself to land. "Hi! Chi-Chi called as soon as the TV signal came back and we got the all clear. She wanted to know if you were okay and when you were coming home." She then noticed that the Saiyan was alone. "...Where's Daddy?"

Goku opened his mouth, but closed it again, finding it unbearably dry. He couldn't find the words.

"Goku," she said, sounding a little angry. "Where's my Daddy? Where's Brick?"

Again, Goku tried to speak. Again, he failed. However, his silence spoke louder than any words he could ever find.

"No," Eva whispered. Tears started to stream down her face as she repeated that one word over and over, getting softer each time.

"Eva..."

Goku was suddenly cut off as the girl started to scream in anguish. He had to look away. _Is this how Chi-Chi felt each time I died?_

He risked a glance at Eva. While unable to bring himself to look at her pained face, he saw her fists were tightly clenched. So much so that her nails were drawing blood from her palms. And she was still screaming, stopping barely only to catch her breath.

This continued for almost a minute before Goku finally noticed something. _Her Ki,_ he thought. _It's not just increasing...it's skyrocketing! Oh my God!_

He looked back at her face, just in time for her Ki aurora to suddenly flare and see the girl make a terrifying transformation.

Her hair, normally jet black, exploded into a bright, fiery red, her aurora changing to a similar shade almost instantly. She opened her eyes to reveal the pupils and irises had become pale yellow circles. She stopped screaming, her fists opening and closing in a steady pace. She was breathing heavily, and Goku could almost touch the pure rage and hate radiating from her form.

_What the hell is going on?!_ he thought, too shocked to speak._ Did she just go Super Saiyan? But...our hair is supposed to turn gold, not red. And the aurora...it's different. Crimson? Scarlet?_

"No," he said aloud, barely above a whisper, his face turning grim. "It's not any of those.

"Blood. It's the color of blood."

_"Fighters fight the fight  
__For their home and their heart  
__We fighters will win or die  
__Forever we are the Brunnen G"  
_–The Lexx Theme (translation)

**Preview Of Next Chapter:**

_A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.  
__They are the strongest person in your world.  
__Your hero.  
__But what happens when your hero falls?  
__Does your world crumble with him?  
__Do you cut yourself on your shattered dreams,  
__or pick them up?  
__Do you avenge his memory and do him proud?  
__No matter your choice, you must become aware that he is just a man,  
__and a even a great man can be broken._

**_Daddy's Little Girl_**


	3. Daddy's Little Girl

**Author's Note/Foreword:** Just to make sure everyone is clear, Eva's hair and aurora after her transformation are two different shades of red. Her aurora is "the color of blood" (hence last chapter's title), while her hair is a really bright red. Some examples of the hair color I'm thinking of are:

Female Ranma  
(shudder) SS4 Gogeta  
Commando Z from "Hand Maid May"  
Hikaru Shidou from "Rayearth"

I want to especially stress Hikaru as an example for two reasons. One, red doesn't get much brighter than that. It's almost pink in some scenes. Second, I'm pretty sure she inspired the idea. In the second encounter with Alcyone, she really ticks Hikaru off (by attacking one of her friends no less). Miss Hikaru then receives a big power boost, complete with flaring aurora. Not hard to see the parallels. Almost every time I see this scene, I keep thinking "She's gonna go Super Saiyan on your ass!"

Yes, I am well aware that I have no life. Your power to state the obvious is uncanny.

In any case, I highly recommend all the Animes listed in this note (except Ranma and DB GT, but only because I haven't seen them as of this writing). And of course, the reasons for the color difference will be explained, but not here. No sport in that. (eg)

Now, hopefully I haven't bored you all to tears and there's still some of you who want to read this chapter. And here it is:

**Daddy's Little Girl**

"She **_WHAT?!_**"

Goku winced as his Saiyan hearing made Vegeta sound much louder than he actually was. Not that he was quiet by any stretch of the imagination, mind you.

"I said," Goku replied, rubbing his sore ear, "that I _think_ she went Super Saiyan."

The two Saiyans and their mates were gathered in the Capsule Corp.'s main laboratory.

"How is that possible?!" Vegeta demanded. "She hardly has any training in controlling her Ki!"

"So?" Goku responded. "None of us _trained_ to reach the first level. And besides, I don't know if that's what happened, but it's the only thing I can think of."

"But why red?" Chi-Chi asked. "Why not blonde like the rest of you?"

"Well, we've never seen a female Super Saiyan before," Goku offered. "Maybe that's it."

Vegeta gave a 'Hmpf' and crossed his arms.

"That's possible, Goku," Bulma said, calling up something on one of the computer screens. "But it's not the only explanation. Look here."

Everyone else gathered around the screen.

"This is a model of Eva's DNA from a recent blood sample. The gold represents her Saiyan genes, and the blue is her Madar, both of which she got from her father. This white would be her human genes, which she got from Yui."

"Then what's the red?" Goku asked.

"That's just it," Bulma sighed. "I have no idea, and I can only assume she got it from her mother's side of the family. And there's something else..."

"What's that, Bulma?" Chi-Chi asked.

"In Eva's blood, there's traces of a metal. You know, like how you'd find iron in any human's blood. The thing is, I'd never seen anything like it before. It was a new type of element altogether."

"But...," the other three said in perfect unison.

Bulma gave a small chuckle. "**But,** after analyzing Eva's lancer, I decided to play on a hunch. It's the exact same metal in both her blood and the weapon."

"What does that mean, woman?" Vegeta asked.

She shrugged and sighed again. "Don't know that either. I don't think either are Madar in origin because there was no trace of the metal in Brick's blood."

"What about that armor Yui left for her?" Chi-Chi asked. "Anything interesting about that?"

"Well, first off, it's not exactly armor. The stuff is really tough. I had Vegeta blast it with everything he had and it wasn't even singed."

The Prince shot Bulma a deadly glare, but she ignored him.

"But it doesn't offer much in terms of bodily protection. The test dummy that was wearing the suit when Vegeta tested it was reduced almost to ash from the heat of the attacks."

"Then what good is it?" Goku asked, scratching his head.

"It's got a few gadgets and stuff built into it," Bulma replied. "I've only figured out one though. In the left wrist band, there's some kind retrieval device for the lancer. Press the button, and the lancer flies back into your hand. Damn thing nearly took my head off..."

"What else?" Goku asked.

"Well, it's got some sort of energy storage unit on the back. I guess it's in case Eva wears herself out or something--"

"Speaking of that little wench," Vegeta interrupted, earning glares from both women present, "what happened after her transformation, Kakarott?"

Goku nodded. "Well, about a minute after it happened, she asked me what happened. I explained it the best I could, and that Brick somehow knew that thing was the first of the Angels. The whole time, she was just glaring off into space, looking like she'd kill anything that moved. After I was done explaining, she was quiet for a while. Then she whispered, 'kill them all,' and passed out. Her hair was black again by the time she hit the ground."

Vegeta grunted. "Brat wore herself out. Her body wasn't ready to hold that much power that fast."

"I'll say!" Goku shouted. "She went from Krillin's level to Gohan's in no time! I'm surprised she didn't blow herself up!"

"Where is she now?" Chi-Chi asked, a worried expression on her face.

"Well, she was in the gravity chamber from sunrise until lunch time," Bulma responded. "Haven't seen her since then. Or her armor. Or her lancer..."

"She's on Roshi's island," Goku responded, staring off into space. "She's having one hell of a spar with someone by the way her power if moving around. Since I can't sense who the other person is, I guess it has to be 18."

Android 18 ducked under another swipe from Eva's silver lancer. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a few of her hairs had been sliced from her head. Frowning, she kicked Eva in the stomach. The girl flew back, but quickly recovered and hurled her weapon at the Android.

The attack was clumsy and 18 easily dodged it. Unfazed, Eva screamed and was suddenly surrounded by a blood-red Ki aura. She then fired a massive blast of matching colored energy, which 18 also dodged. However, the blast was a diversion so that Eva could activate the device in the left wrist band of her battle suit. Android 18 didn't realize what it was until she was almost decapitated.

After Eva caught the weapon, both fighters stopped to catch their breath.

"Not bad kid," 18 said between breaths. "You're learning fast."

Eva shook her head. "Not fast enough. I can't stop, not until I'm strong enough to destroy them all. I'll reach Level 3 if I have to..."

With that, Eva tossed her lancer aside and cupped her hands. "Ka...Me...He...Me...HAK!"

Partly due to her mispronunciation, but mostly due to her exhaustion, Eva's attack was very weak, and despite her own tired state, 18 batted it aside very easily.

"Damn you!!" Eva cried. Her aurora flared up again, and she made to renew her attack on 18, but only collapsed onto her hands and knees.

Krillin and Master Roshi, who had been watching the spar from the porch of the house, quickly ran to Eva's sides and tried to help her up.

"Easy kiddo," Krillin said as they took hold of her arms. "Even Saiyans have their limits."

"I'm not just Saiyan," Eva gasped, letting her arms be draped across each of their shoulders. "I am Madar, and--"

"And _human_," Krillin stressed as he and Roshi raised her to her feet. "Sit down and rest a bit."

Eva was about to reply when her glance suddenly shifted to Master Roshi. "Why is your hand on my breasts old man?"

Roshi gave a start and began to sweat nervously. "I-uh...that is...just trying to get a hold of ya and they're sorta hard to miss, that's all! Just brushed 'em by accident!"

"Fair enough," she said coldly, her glance turning into a glare. "But then why are you squeezing?"

Before anyone knew what was happening, Eva's energy suddenly flared and she was holding Roshi against the wall of his house.

"How dare you!!" she yelled at the terrified Martial Arts Master. "How dare you soil me with your dirty old hands! Do you know who I am?! I'm Eva Stone!" Her eyes started to glow yellow. "Daughter of the mighty Brick! I'm-I'm my Daddy's little girl! I....Daddy..."

Eva's eyes returned to normal and rolled into the back of her head as she fell backwards onto the ground, out cold. Krillin again ran over to her and looked her over, while Roshi regained his footing and tried to lower his heart rate.

"She's okay," Krillin said finally, shooting a quick glare in his old Master's direction. "She just exhausted herself. She'll be out till night fall at least. Her body's catching up quick, but it still can't handle all this energy."

18 frowned. "Frankly, I'm a little scared about **how** quick she's learning. I know Saiyans learn fast, but come on!"

"Well," Krillin sighed, "from everything Vegeta's told us, Madar were a warrior race in their own right. Maybe that's why."

"Whatever," 18 said as she picked Eva up and rested the girl over her shoulder. "Can't say I blame her though."

"Why's that?" Krillin asked.

"She lost the most important person in her life," she replied. "I'd hate to see what happened to you if you ever lost me."

With that, Android 18 took to the sky with Eva in tow, heading in the direction of the Son house, leaving her husband to ponder her last statement.

Goku zoomed through the air, looking over the ocean and the many islands scattered throughout. It was indeed a beautiful site to behold, but scenery was the farthest thing from his mind.

"So how 'bout it?" the Saiyan asked the passenger clinging tightly to his back.

"Huh?" asked the young Uub. "How about what?"

"After your training's complete, and you become flawless, how 'bout we try out our powers on each other?"

"Yeah sure. Why not?"

"All right!" Goku cheered. "To be honest, I can't wait for that to happen!" His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and teared up. "It sounds thrilling, doesn't it? The two of us, going head-to-head in an all out battle?"

Uub didn't answer. In fact, Goku suddenly felt a lot lighter. As if Uub had suddenly fallen off...

"Uub!" Goku cried, coming to a complete stop. He looked around, searching desperately for the young village boy.

"He's fine," Brick said, appearing in front of Goku and removing a pair of fingers from his forehead. "He's safely on land. We need to talk Goku."

"Ok," Goku replied. "But can we make it quick? I'm kinda in a hurry to start training Uub."

Brick sighed. "That's what we need to talk about. Don't you see anything wrong with what you're doing?"

Goku blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When you found out about me and what I was doing for Darcon, you demanded I help end the threat for the sake of your family. And now you're just going to abandon them?!"

"It's not like that! I'm gonna come visit!"

"They need more than just a visit every now and then! Goten just became a teenager! Gohan needs guidance in raising Pan! They need their father!" Brick then whispered "Besides, the way your mind is, you'll forget to visit..."

"You and Vegeta can take care of that stuff. Uub needs someone to train him!"

Brick sighed again and buried his face in his hands. "Fine," he said, looking up to glare at Goku. "I'll have to put this into the only language you seem to understand!"

With a shout, Brick's hair suddenly spiked up, the rubber-band holding it in a ponytail vaporizing as his golden Ki aurora flared up. His muscle mass increased and his eyes went from blue to green.

"You and me," the Ascended Brick growled. "One-on-one. If you win, you can leave your family behind to go train Uub. If I win, he finds a new master and you go back to be the best damn father and husband you can. You up to it?"

Goku laughed. "Come on Brick! I mean, you've gotten a lot stronger over the years, but..."

Brick smirked. "Didn't you teach me to never underestimate your opponents? As long as you don't go past Level 2 it'll be a fair fight, trust me." He pointed to the ocean below. "First one to be completely submerged under the water is the loser. Agreed?"

Goku smiled and nodded.

"Then let's rumble!!"

Brick attacked, but Goku simply went Super Saiyan himself and dodged. However, the battle was now on, and a fierce battle it was. Their blows could be heard for miles as claps of thunder. Water was turned instantly to vapor by their energy attacks. Both found themselves partially underwater more than they would have liked. And to Goku's surprise, he did eventually have to Ascend to Level 2.

"Told ya," Brick said with a smirk when he saw this.

"All right, all right," Goku said, returning the smirk. "From now on I'll practice what I preach. But now this fight's gone to a whole new level."

"You got that right," Brick said, extending his left arm out to the side. "Now remember, you can't underestimate me."

A white energy ball formed in his left hand.

"After all, you may have taught me everything _you_ know –"

Brick hurled the energy ball into the ocean, directly below Goku.

"–But not everything **I** know!"

Goku was confused, when from the water below him suddenly exploded a huge cross made out of white energy. He wasn't hit by the attack, but the suddenness of it caught him off guard and sent him spiraling a few feet out of control.

"Like it?" Brick asked as Goku regained control. "I call it the 'cross flare.' A gift from the dearly departed Shara Stone."

"I couldn't sense that," Goku muttered. "COOL!"

The battle began anew, more intense than before. Goku was now stronger than his friend, but to his surprise, not as much as he used to be. Brick's tricks also kept him on his toes. At one point, Brick had Goku completely surrounded by "cross flares," allowing him to attack from above with a golden energy blast. Goku was sent waist-deep into the ocean, but bolted out before Brick could sick him in any further.

Brick dodged the attack, and the one that followed. But Goku was coming at him so fast, he couldn't get back on the offensive, and he noticed his friend was slowly leading him to the water below.

Goku pulled back his hand, and then delivered the punch that should have sent Brick several feet below the water's surface. However, all that happened was that his fist was burned and he had to pull it back.

"OW! What the–?!"

Goku looked at Brick, and saw what was left of his shirt and been destroyed and that two familiar golden wings were wrapped around him. More specifically, wrapped around where Goku's fist would have made contact.

"No fair!!" Goku shouted.

"How do ya figure?" Brick asked as he unfurled the wings, revealing his white hair, black eyes and Vegeta smirk. "After all, we agreed that you couldn't you transform any further, but we didn't say anything about little 'ol me..."

Goku growled and attacked again, but Brick was now faster. Much faster. So fast that when Goku made to strike him down, he was already behind the Saiyan and ready for the next move. Goku quickly became frustrated and whether he knew it or not, began to summon energy for the next level of his transformation.

Sensing this, Brick realized he had to stop him and end the fight quickly. Otherwise, he'd be in the hospital for weeks. He wrapped his wings around himself again, and with a shout, flung them back out, launching a hail what appeared to be energy feathers.

Goku cried out as the hail cut into him and shredded the remains of his Gi. When the attack subsided, Goku turned to Brick, and was surprised to find the Madar/Saiyan back in his "normal" form, tying his hair back with a new rubber-band.

"You're giving up?!"

"Hardly," Brick said, getting into a defensive stance. "Just with all I've learned about Ki and Super Saiyans, I forgot some of what I learned about **real** fighting. Come and get me."

Though confused, Goku didn't show it. He charged up his aura and bolted at Brick.

Brick held his "ground," and started to explain something as Goku came at him, though he knew there was a good chance the Saiyan couldn't hear him.

"Ya see, one of the things my Senseis taught me was that you can't be all tensed up when you fight. You gotta be loose and fluid..."

When Goku reached him, Brick floated to the side and grabbed his wrist. Using Goku's momentum, Brick flipped him and sent him spiraling out of control. Try as he might, Goku couldn't right himself and soon:

**_SPLASH!_**

"Like water," Brick finished with a smile.

After a few seconds, Goku's gasping head broke the surface of the water. "Didn't see that coming," he muttered.

Brick chuckled as he floated down to offer Goku his hand. "Neither did I," he said. "The Sensei who taught me about that one was quite a character."

Goku took the offered hand and let Brick pull him out of the ocean. "Well, I guess we'd better head home. But what about Uub?"

"I'm sure we can find someone else to train him. Besides, if he really is who you think he is, I'm not sure it's such a good idea that he train on Earth, you know? He could lose his temper and blow up his whole island."

"I guess..."

Brick sighed. "All right, how's this? We find Uub a new Sensei, and to make your 'punishment' more bearable, I'll spar with you once a week. I go with Eva to visit you guys all the time anyway."

Goku's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?! Will it be like this time?!"

Brick sighed yet again and nodded. "Yes. As long as you give being a father and husband your best, I'll give you my best when we spar. Now come on, ya big lug. The first thing you must learn for your new life is the fine art of begging the wife for forgiveness. Luckily for you, I happen to be an expert at that..."

Goku chuckled at the fond memory as he adjusted the tie around his neck. "Good times," he whispered with a smile.

Brick had become a good friend over the years, and it was still hard for Goku to believe he was dead. Even harder to believe that he was now getting ready for his funeral.

The plan had been simple: after the threat of all the Angels had been eliminated, they would use the Dragonballs to restore all who lost their lives in the attack, Brick included. They needed to wait however, as more lives would probably be lost as the battles continued. It didn't help matters that no one knew exactly what the Angels were, or how many there would be. Vegeta was trying desperately to remember anything about them from Appla's reports on the Radam, but kept drawing a blank.

Then there was the funeral, which Goku had his reservations about. Normally, he wouldn't bother with one, as Brick would be back before the year was up. However, the Angel's attack was in the heart of Satan City, and many of the people who survived saw Brick die to destroy the monster. They were confused about the whole situation. Not only because Brick had demonstrated superhuman powers like Saiyaman and Saiyagirl, but because a simple construction worker had died to save them, while Mr. Satan had been no where to be found. So, in order to protect his reputation and status as the savior of the world, Hercule had paid for and arranged a hero's funeral for Brick. A funeral where he would give the eulogy, and which would be televised.

"Well," Goku sighed, "if nothing else, it might be good for Eva."

The girl was seriously beginning to worry him. She had been doing nothing but train, resting only when she exhausted herself to the point of passing out. When she finally came to from the Roshi incident this morning, it had taken a lot of convincing to get her to go to the funeral, rather than the gravity chamber. While he knew the girl looked up to him as a sort of second father, he wasn't her real father, and Goku was finally starting to understand why Brick demanded he come home all those years ago.

Goku sighed sadly as he put on his suit coat. "We miss ya, Brick," he said. "So whatever you do, don't get on King Yemma's bad side."

Otherworld:

Brick sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"If there is a hell," he muttered, "I'm sure this is how it smells. Phew!"

Holding his nose, he looked around for what he felt must have been the thousandth time. The line he'd been standing in since he arrived to wherever he was finally winding down. Soon he'd finally see what the heck he was waiting for.

Shortly, he found himself in what seemed to be an oversized office, staring up a desk the size of a mansion, and behind the desk was a large red man perfectly to scale with everything else.

"Just when I think I've gotten used to everything this life could possibly throw at me," Brick muttered, "this happens."

The giant looked up from the book it was reading. "**Ah yes,**" he bellowed. "**You must be Brick Stone.**"

"And you must be the one guy I'll let get away with making fun of my name."

King Yemma raised an eyebrow, but turned back to his books. "**Let's see...gave your life to save Satan City, eh? I guess I can see why Shin might be interested in you.**"

"Who?"

That's when a large purple man dressed in strange clothes stepped out from behind the desk into Brick's line of vision. Not large compared to King Yemma of course (_I don't think **anything** could be large compared to that guy,_ Brick thought), but he did tower over the Saiyan. Brick guessed he was about nine or ten feet tall.

"I am Kibito," the purple man said, "companion and assistant to Shin, the Supreme Kai. He requests that you join him on his planet during your stay in Otherworld."

Brick blinked. "What?"

Kibito seemed to sigh slightly. "Just come with me please."

"Yeah, sure," Brick muttered. "Why the hell not..."

Earth:

_Rain at a funeral,_ Eva thought. _Never has a cliche been so fucking appropriate._

The girl pulled her father's leather jacket closer to her body. Not to keep dry or because she was cold, but to try and bring her father closer to her.

_He's not even in the coffin! Goku told me he turned to dust and blew away with the wind!_

She was only barely aware that Chi-Chi was next to her and holding tightly onto her hand, even less aware that Goten was on her other side doing the same. Occasionally, she felt Videl or Pan place a hand on her shoulder, but through it all, she simply stared at the empty casket, slipping in and out of Hercule Satan's eulogy.

Of course, the coffin wasn't really empty. Everyone present had placed something in it that reminded them of the late Brick Stone. Chi-Chi had placed a copy of his favorite chili recipe, while Goku had offered one of his departed friend's old fighting Gis. Pan gave up a stuffed teddy bear Brick had given her for her birthday. Trunks and Goten offered up some old comic books that Brick had enjoyed. Brick's former employees had put in some tools and a hard-hat.

By the time the service had ended, the rain stopped and the sun started to break through the clouds. One by one, everyone walked over to Eva, offering their condolences. Eva more or less ignored them. Some, like the workers, seemed offended by this, but they all seemed to understand and let her alone. However, when a certain someone came up to her, she finally spoke up.

"Mr. Satan," she said softly as she shook his hand, "I truly appreciate everything you've done for me and my family."

"Oh it's no problem little girl," the large man said. "Anything for a fellow hero--"

"**However,**" she spat, interrupting him and letting go of his hand as if it were covered in slime. "I know you did it all to protect yourself and your lie. So, if I ever, **EVER** hear you claim to be in the same league as my father again-" she looked up and glared at him venomously, "-as God as my witness, I'll break you in half."

Satan was noticeably shaken by this, but before the exchange could be continued, Videl placed a hand on Eva's shoulder and gently led the younger girl away. Satan wasted no time getting into his limo and having the driver take him to his warm, dry and safe mansion home.

Later:

"Let me go Gohan! I've gotta train! I gotta get stronger!"

Gohan didn't release his grip on Eva's arm as he dragged her out into an open field.

"Dammit Son! I'll go through you if I have to!"

With a scowl, Gohan pushed Eva to the ground. "We're here to train," he said.

"All right!" Eva shouted. "Let's go!"

She powered up and dove at him, but Gohan simply caught her fist and pushed her back to the ground.

"Not that kind of training," he said. "Power down."

"WHAT?!"

"Power down to your lowest level."

"Fine," she spat.

"Lower."

"What?!"

"Get your power level as low as it was before your Dad died."

"I can't," she growled, her power level suddenly spiking rather high.

Gohan sighed. "I was afraid of that. Krillin tells me you nearly killed Master Roshi yesterday, and you threatened Videl's father at the funeral today."

"So what?"

He sighed again. "What was one of the very first things Brick taught you."

She shot him a glare as she answered. "Control."

"Do you think you're in control now?"

"Perfectly."

"Then lower your power to its minimum."

"...."

"Better yet, why don't you transform?"

"...You mean into a Super Saiyan?"

"If that's what it is when your hair turns red, then yes."

"Of course that's what it is! What else could it be?!" She paused. "Oh right. For all you guys know it could be some sort of Madar thing."

He blinked. "How do you know it isn't?"

Eva sighed. "When you guys go Super, I can feel this...change in your Ki. I don't know if anybody else can sense it, but it's there. Like that quality of the power goes up with the quantity. When I transformed, I felt that same change within myself, though I didn't really know what it was at the time."

Gohan nodded. "All right, transform into a Super Saiyan then."

"...I can't. I've tried, but I just can't get it back..."

"So I ask again, are you in control?"

"No," she whispered in defeat. "No I'm not."

Gohan sat down cross-legged in front of Eva and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay," he said reassuringly. "None of us had control at first. It takes practice to be able to transform at will. But before you can control your body, you have to control your emotions."

"How?" she asked softly, practically in tears.

And so, Gohan began instructing Eva on how to meditate and how to better focus her Ki. It seemed to be going well. Like everything else, Eva was picking it up exceptionally quick. However, as one might expect, something went wrong.

Suddenly, the sky grew very dark. Miles in the distance, Gohan and Eva could see flashing lights and hear claps of thunder. And barely five minutes after it all started, it ended, leaving no trace that it had happened at all.

"What was that?" Eva asked. "Not another storm. Too fast and there wasn't any rain..."

"No," Gohan said, standing up and looking toward the sky. "That's what usually happens when the Dragon is summoned."

"NO!" Eva shouted. "Daddy died two days ago! By the time we can make another wish he'll have been dead more than a year! We won't be able to bring him back!"

Then, from the opposite direction, deeper in the wilderness, they felt both Vegeta and Goku go Super Saiyan and then drop down to normal. A signal for the others to gather at their location.

With a scream, her aurora flared and Eva flew off at her top speed. However, she didn't head in the direction of the signal.

Gohan let out a heavy sigh. "When it rains, it pours."

He then took off to meet with his father and the Saiyan Prince.

Otherworld:

"Uh...I'm grateful for the new threads and all, but do you have anything more...normal? Y'know, maybe like a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Or even a fighting Gi. Not this weird....thing."

Kibito sighed, but chose to ignore his companion for the time being. "I have returned, Supreme Kai, and I have brought our guest."

"These earrings definitely have to go. And how long's the halo been there?"

Shin was chuckling as he stepped out from behind a tree. "Thank you, Kibito," he said, giving both his assistant and Brick a warm smile. "Welcome, Brick."

"Hiya," Brick said, waving. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but I don't feel comfortable in this outfit. If it's not too much trouble..."

Shin nodded to Kibito, who placed a large purple hand on Brick's shoulder. Soon, the Saiyan/Madar hybrid was dressed in his normal attire: blue jeans that were ripped at the knees, work boots, and a white but stained T-shirt. His hair had been even tied back into a ponytail for him.

Brick was noticeably more at ease after the change was made. "Thank you, sir," he said with a bow. "But, now, I'd really like to know why I'm here."

"It's simple really," Shin said, still smiling warmly. "Ever since the incident with Majin Buu, we've kept an eye on Goku and the other Saiyans on Earth. I witnessed your fight with the so-called 'Angel,' and thought you had earned the right to observe the happenings on Earth."

Brick bowed again. "Thank you, sir. How can I repay you?"

"Just continue to do what you do best," the Supreme Kai replied as he held up the crystal ball.

"And what's that, sir?"

"Be a good father, by watching over your daughter."

Slowly, an image of Eva in her battle armor formed within the sphere.

Earth:

"About time you arrived, brat," Vegeta scoffed as Gohan landed next to him and Goku on a ledge overlooking a grassy hillside. "Where's the wench?"

Gohan shook his head. "She just bolted straight to her house. Don't know why. What do we got?"

"Some kinda weird bug thing," Goku replied, scanning the freakishly tall grass below. "It's not as big as the last one, but still pretty big."

"So it is an Angel then?"

"It had a core just like the last one."

"We tried to destroy it," Vegeta said, "but it deflected our attacks with some sort of tendril made out of energy. It has the ability to blend in with its surroundings and has no energy signature, so we cannot find it."

"Force field?"

"Hmpf. If it has one, it hasn't needed it."

"And this really tall grass isn't helping matters either," Goku added. "Big as that thing is, it could still hide in there really well, even without the camouflage!"

"I wanted to simply vaporize the weeds," Vegeta growled, "but your father is concerned about any worthless animals that may be living in there."

Gohan simply nodded. He was about to say something, but instead shouted "INCOMING!!"

The two older Saiyans watched as the Angel appeared towering over them, seemingly from nowhere. They both shot to Super Saiyan 2 and prepared to attack.

"NO!" Gohan cried. "From behind us! DUCK!"

Gohan pushed them both to the ground, just as a screaming red streak would have decapitated them. Then Angel was knocked into the hillside and the Saiyans could clearly see Eva trying to beat the life out of it with punches and kicks.

"Oh," Goku said as he and Gohan stood back up. "She just went to get her armor."

"Whatever," Vegeta growled. The Prince stood up and pointed his palm at the monster. "All I know is that's she blocking my shot so she had better move!"

"**_NO!_**" Eva screamed, glaring at the other three. "**_THIS ONE'S MINE!_**"

Vegeta seemed surprised at first, but simply smirked, crossed his arms and returned to his normal form.

With a slight nod, Eva backed away from the Angel. Just enough space for her to relight her Ki and hit it with a barrage of red energy blasts. The beast deflected each blast with purple energy tendril, just like Vegeta had reported, but she refused to let up.

"EVA, NO!" Gohan called. "YOU'LL JUST WEAR YOURSELF OUT!"

If Eva heard the warning, she didn't have time to acknowledge or ignore it as one of the tendrils struck her down. She crashed through the tall grass into the ground below, sending a tremor throughout the landscape.

"EVA!!" Goku cried. He made to dive after her, but Vegeta stopped him.

"You heard the girl Kakarott," he said as she weakly floated back into the air. "She wants to take this one out on her own."

"But Vegeta, she's not ready!"

The Prince shrugged. "That's not our problem. If she's so eager to rejoin her father, let her."

"My father," Eva repeated in a whisper. She looked up just in time to see both tendrils coming at her. With a shout, she caught one in each hand, sparks shooting out between her fingers.

"YES!" Goku shouted, returning to his normal form in relief. He turned to Gohan and Vegeta with a grin, but it disappeared when he noticed the shocked, almost scared, expressions on their faces.

"Dad?" Gohan asked. "The other night...did it feel anything like this?"

Goku spun around, back to the battle, just in time to hear Eva scream her loudest yet. There was explosion as her black hair again erupted into a fiery red. The Angel was blasted from her grip and into the hillside, leaving an impression.

Without a sound, Eva reached behind her back and removed her lancer from its sabered. She unfolded it, and twisted its handle, disconnecting it into two separate blades. Then, screaming yet again, she attacked.

The Angel had recovered by this time and struck with its tendrils. However, with almost no effort, Eva dodged them and severed them from their roots. The creature let loose an earth shaking roar that briefly drowned out Eva's own cry. Its core was now defenseless.

Still screaming, Eva drove both of her blades deep into the core, charging them with her own Ki as she did. Sparks shot from the orb and the Angel struggled with all its strength, but she ignored both. This continued for close to five minutes until the creature became still and all the color drained from its form.

Similarly, right after that, Eva stopped screaming and pushing, and her hair became black once again. However, she remained floating in the air, clutching tightly to the hilts of her lancer and trembling.

"Is it dead?" Goku finally asked.

Gohan nodded. "Listen...."

They did, and hearing a sound, quietly flew toward its source. When they arrived next to Eva, it was confirmed that the girl was sobbing, tears falling from her face like rain.

As gently as they could, Goku and Gohan pried her hands from the hilts, and Goku carefully took her into his arms. Through it all, the girl didn't move except for the sobs racking her body. Goku quietly instructed Vegeta and Gohan to get some samples of the Angel to Bulma for analysis, and then to destroy the rest. He then flew Eva home.

"You did good, Eva," he whispered as he gently set her down on her own bed. He handed her Kongy, which she quickly snatched from his hand though her eyes were closed. Soon afterwards, the crying started to fade.

He chuckled slightly. "I know Brick would be very proud of you."

As he turned to leave, he swore he heard a voice whisper "Damn straight."

Later that evening:

"You **_WHAT?!_**"

Goku couldn't help chuckle at the scene before him. Eva, Trunks, and Goten had been sparring, as was obvious by the positions they were all in. Eva was holding Trunks by the shirt collar, high above her head, her other hand pulled back, ready to send him flying over horizon. Goten had managed to land a punch to her face, but all it had done was mash up her cheek. She didn't seem to feel it at all. Judging by her red hair and yellow eyes, Eva had gotten the hang for transforming to a Super Saiyan at will.

All three were frozen in place, staring at Goku and Chi-Chi as if in shock.

"We've adopted Eva," Chi-Chi repeated. "Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. She's not old enough to live out on her own and she spends 90 of her time here anyway. I thought you'd be happy."

"I am, I am," Eva said as she gently lowered Trunks to the ground. She carefully pushed Goten aside so her mouth would move normally as her hair and eyes returned to normal. "It's just quite a shock."

"I know," Goku said. "But we need to keep a close as an eye on you as possible. There's still a lot we don't know about you and your powers."

"Can't argue with that," she sighed. "And...I don't really wanna live in Daddy's house all by myself anyway."

Goku smiled. It was easy to see that taking her rage out on that Angel had done wonders for her emotional state. She wasn't fully recovered, but that would take time. Months, maybe even years, depending on how things went.

Walking past her new foster parents, Eva went to the front door of the Son house. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over the threshold.

"I'm home," she said softly.

Chi-Chi smiled and gave the girl's shoulder and gentle, loving squeeze. "Welcome home, Eva."

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Goten tossed and turned as he struggled to fall asleep. It had been a long day and he was dead tired, but sleep just wouldn't come.

After a few hours, it seemed like he was finally drifting off. In his half-conscious state, he was barely aware of the approaching Ki signature. That is, until it plopped into bed next to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes....

....and they nearly popped out of their sockets.

Eva was in bed with him, wearing only a loose-fitting shirt and a pair of old short-shorts as sleeping attire. A curious glance confirmed that he could easily see everything down the shirt. Two things in particular.

"Goten?" she called sleepily.

"Yes?" he replied, closing his eyes, trying to look natural.

"Could I....sleep with you? Please?"

_What?!_ he thought in shock. _Is she asking what I think she's asking?!_

"It's just that I have trouble sleeping if I can't cuddle something....and Kongy's back at the house..."

He wanted to slap himself. _Of course that's what she meant. Man, Brick's gonna kill me when he gets back..._

Aloud, he said "Sure thing Eva."

Instantly, her arms wrapped around him. He hesitated at first, but soon did the same to her, making sure to stay clear of certain areas.

He could tell Eva was asleep almost right away. He mentally cursed, figuring it would take him forever to drift off again. However, the situation somehow felt right, and was falling asleep within minutes.

"Good night Eva," he whispered.

"Good night Daddy...."

_"I know you had to go away  
__I died just a little, and I feel it now  
__You're the one I need  
__I believe that I would cry just a little  
__Just to have you back now  
__Here with me"  
_–Michelle Branch

**End Credits:**

First, Goku's comparison of Eva's power before and after her transformation should NOT be taken literally. I simply wanted to convey that she went from a relatively small level to an extremely powerful one, so I used the best examples I could think of.

Second, I know Kibito and Shin permanently fused at some point in the Buu Saga. However, I really liked the two characters as separate entities, so I decided to take advantage of this being an AU. In this universe, they still fused, but were at some point separated. I'll cover the "why" and the "how" in a future saga when/if I come up with a decent enough story.

Third, again for those who like a visual reference, this chapter's Angel was Evangelion's fourth, the one that attacked on Shinji's first day of school (talk about bad days, eh?). I know that one couldn't blend into the background, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting than just another giant monster.

Finally, but by the far the most important, this chapter is dedicated to Jean Brown, my beloved grandmother and one of the most important people in my life. She passed away the morning of May 24, 2003, the day after I finished the funeral scene. May she finally find the rest and peace she so rightfully deserves.

**Preview Of Next Chapter:  
**_A promise is something that must be given in order to be kept.  
__Someone's word should be unbreakable to all but the strongest forces of chaos.  
__And even then, some shred of it should still hold.  
__"Always," she whispered as I cried.  
__"Always and forever."  
__In a world gone mad, these whispers are all I have.  
__If a promise can be broken, the words are nothing.  
__A broken promise  
__means broken trust._

**_"Always"_**


	4. Always

10 years ago, 12 hours before Goku and Brick met for the first time:

"MOMMY!! DADDY!!"

Yui Francois-Stone ran into little Eva's bedroom to find her daughter sitting up in bed, crying. Moving quickly, she picked the teddy monkey off the floor and sat down next to the little girl, pulling her into a hug.

"What's wrong, precious?" she whispered.

"I had a bad dream," Eva sobbed. "I was in this oven-thing, and it was burning and it hurt and it felt like it was doing something to my insides..."

Making shushing sounds, Yui gently rocked her daughter and gave her Kongy. Eva took the doll without hesitation, but didn't stop crying.

"And there was a window in the oven," she continued. "And I could see you on the outside. You were just standing there Mommy, just standing and watching....it looked like you were crying..."

Yui hugged the little Eva tightly. "I'm so sorry precious."

Eva just continued to sob, clutching tightly onto both her mother and her doll.

"I want to give you something," Yui whispered, pulling something apparently from nowhere. "It used to belong to my Daddy..."

Eva looked up. "What is it?"

Yui opened her hand to reveal a small, oddly shaped red crystal encased in gold and attached to a golden chain. Without waiting for a response, she quietly placed it around Eva's neck.

"It's very special," Yui explained. "It will protect you when you're in danger and let me watch over you always."

"Pretty," Eva whispered, looking at the jewel.

"He said I had to give it to you," Yui said very quietly. "He didn't say I had to give it to you in its original state."

"What Mommy?"

"I was just saying that I love you, my little Eva," Yui said in a normal volume. "And I always will. I'll always be with you, no matter what happens..."

The Present:

"Eva? Hey Eva! Are you even listening to me?"

Eva looked up from staring at her necklace as she snapped out of her flashback. In front of her, stood Goku who looked frustrated, but only slightly.

"Sorry," she said, soon matching the crystal's color in embarrassment.

The two of them were in Capsule Corp.'s indoor garden. Eva was sitting cross-legged on the grass, wearing her father's leather jacket over her orange fighting Gi, despite the fact the garden's temperature was in the low 60s. Goku stood a few feet in front of her.

"It's okay," he replied. "Though since you seemed so eager to learn Instant Transmission, it might help if you stayed on planet Earth."

"Right," she said with a nod. "So how's this bitch work?"

**"Always"**

Goku appeared behind Eva and removed his fingers from his forehead. "See?" he said. "Nothing to it."

Eva nodded again as she stood up. "So I put my pointer and middle finger against my forehead like so..."

"Right," Goku said. "And then you find the Ki sig--"

Before he could finish, Eva suddenly disappeared. She reappeared a few yards away, looking directly up one of the trees.

"Hello Panny," she said with a grin.

There was a surprised shout from within the branches, soon followed by Pan falling out of the tree and hitting the ground with a thud.

"Hi Auntie Eva," Pan said, rubbing her head through her bandanna.

Eva giggled. "Are you spying on me and Granpa Goku?"

"No! I was playing hide-and-seek with Mommy!"

"Your Mom's at work."

Pan chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Her eyes became "upside-down U's" and the Son Grin formed on her face. "Okay, Trunks is supposed to be watching me while Mommy and Daddy are at work, but he's sparring with Uncle Goten."

Eva smirked. "So you decided to see what trouble you could get into."

"Yeah...I mean no!!"

Goku laughed.

Eva smiled down at her adopted niece. "Why don't you go cause trouble for Gramma Chi-Chi? That'll get Trunks back on the job."

Pan grinned evilly before flying out of the garden. Once she was gone, Eva started grinning herself.

"That was sooo COOL!" she squealed. "I gotta show Auntie Bulma!"

"Uh...Eva?" Goku said. "I don't think that's such a good idea right now..."

"Oh, she's just in her lab," Eva said, waving him off. "It's not like I'm going all the way to Namek."

And with that, she vanished.

Goku sighed. "Well, at least she's still learning quick."

"**AAAAHHH!!! UNCLE VEGGIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY AUNTIE BULMA?! Oh my poor little virgin eyes....**"

"Now if only she'd learn to look before she leaps..."

"**_KAKAROTT!! I AM COMING FOR YOU!!_**"

Goku gulped. "Gotta go!"

"Man, I can't wait till Eva finally moves into her own room."

Trunks looked over at his friend. "Why's that?"

Goten leaned against the outside wall of the gravity chamber, wiping the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. "All week, every night, just as I'm getting to sleep, she sneaks into my room and asks to sleep with me."

Trunks smirked. "Does she now? So she use a wonder bra or what?"

Goten smirked back. Trunks obviously had the wrong idea, but there wasn't any harm in playing along, was there?

"Nope. They're real and they're awesome."

"Lucky bastard."

"And that ass. It's nice and--"

Goten stopped in mid-sentence as the ass in question suddenly appeared between the two Saiyans with a small thud.

"Man, it's even COOLER when you're Super!" Eva grinned as her hair went from red to black.

"Eva?" Goten said in slight shock. "How'd you just appear like that?"

Still grinning, Eva slowly and clumsily climbed to her feet, using the wall for support. "Goku just taught me Instant Transmission!"

"You mean," Trunks said, "now you _really can_ appear out of no where? Instead of just seeming to?"

"Yep!"

"Great," Goten sighed. "Just great. Wait--how long has Dad been teaching you this?"

"My first lesson was this morning," Eva replied. "Why?"

Both boys blinked.

"Because Dad said Instant Transmission was one of the hardest tricks he ever learned," Goten replied. "And you can already pull it off perfectly."

"Not perfectly," Eva said, rubbing the back of her head. "I get pretty dizzy afterwards...and a few times I wound up somewhere I didn't wanna be..." She shuddered slightly.

"I don't get it!" Trunks shouted. "You teleport like a pro, but you **still** can't perform a decent Kamehameha Wave!"

"Hey! I'll have you know I've never mispronounced it the same way twice!" She removed her father's jacket and set it down on the ground. "Man it's hot all of a sudden..."

Trunks and Goten glanced at each other, then turned their attention back toward their female companion.

"Anyway!" Eva shouted. "Hey Goten, how'd you like to help me pack up my stuff? Trunks, I'd invite you to, but you're on the clock."

" 'On the clock'?" Trunks repeated, raising an eyebrow. "The hell are you talking about?"

As if to answer Trunks's question, an explosion suddenly erupted on the other side of the grounds.

"Oh crap," Trunks whispered. "**_PAN!!_**"

Eva giggled, took hold of Goten's wrist, and with him in tow, took to the sky.

Goku peaked around the entrance to the main laboratory. "You wanted to see me Bulma?"

Bulma looked up from her work and chuckled. "I sent Vegeta on an errand, Goku. He'll be gone for a while."

The Saiyan let out a sigh of relief and entered the room. "What happened earlier, anyway?"

"Oh Eva just happened to appear when me and Vegeta were kissing, that's all. I guess it must have looked weird or something."

Goku cringed. "I'll say."

She glared at him. "I'll ignore that little comment, but only because this info is really important."

Goku became serious and walked over to the terminal, looking over Bulma's shoulder. "What's up?"

"Well, I've analyzed the samples of the last Angel Gohan and Vegeta brought me, and I've found out some interesting stuff. Take a look at its DNA."

A CGI model of a DNA strand appeared on the screen. It was divided into two colors: black and red.

"You've used red before..." Goku whispered.

"Yep," Bulma nodded. "This creature's a hybrid like Goten or Trunks. And half of its DNA is exactly the same as Eva's mysterious fourth quarter."

"And the black?"

"Not a damn clue, but that's not really important right now. Look at this."

She called up another file. A chunk of what seemed to be purple flesh appeared on the screen.

"This is a piece of that Angel," Bulma explained. "And this..."

She called up another picture. It was the same piece of Angel, but a third of it was blackened.

"...is the piece after I had Trunks zap it in his normal form."

Goku nodded. "Okay, but what's this got to do with Eva?"

"I'm getting to that. After studying the results of Trunks' attack for a few hours, I decided to play on another hunch. I had him attack another third of the strip at the exact same level, and this was the result."

She called up and other picture, but:

"It's the exact same picture," Goku said, scratching his head.

"Actually, it's not," Bulma corrected. "The same level of attack had no effect. The chunk evolved and adapted."

"You mean it's still alive?!"

"No, it's quite dead. Far as I can tell, it's like a human's hair and finger nails. They keep growing after the body has died." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm having Vegeta destroy all the samples, just to be safe. I got what I need."

Goku nodded.

"Anyway, after it didn't work, I had Trunks go Super. The piece was nearly vaporized. A few hours later, I had him hit it again, at the same level, and there was no effect."

"Bulma, what are you saying?"

She continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Playing my hunch further, I studied the DNA, and found the genetic code for this adaptation ability is found solely in the 'red' section."

"So that's how she's getting so strong so quick," Goku whispered in realization.

Bulma nodded. "Seems that way."

"Any idea on what the red is yet?"

"Actually, yeah, and I know no one's gonna like it. Especially her."

Goku sighed. "All right, let's hear it."

"Well, we all know Darcon was Radam. We also know the part he played in Yui's creation and that these Angel's are supposedly his...."

Goku's eyes widened slightly. "No way...."

"I think we can say, with 90 certainty, that the fourth quarter of Eva's DNA is Radam."

"Here we are. Home, once Sweet, Home," Eva said as she and Goten touched down in front of the Stone house.

"You'll always have the memories," Goten said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The good ones."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "It's just that I've had a hard time....remembering the good memories lately. When I come here now, all I remember is...that."

She gestured to a patch of scorched earth on the front of lawn.

"Is that...where you first transformed?" Goten asked.

She nodded. "It's scary when I look back now....I had no idea I could hate so much. I mean, I still hate the Radam with every fiber of my being, but when Goku told me..." She shivered.

"Yeah," was all Goten could say. "But at least you finally learned to channel that hate, right?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Do you...remember what you were feeling when you first went Super?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I just know I was really upset that Mom was pushing me so hard. I was just too young I guess. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on Gohan's face though."

She giggled softly. "C'mon," she said as she went to unlock the door. "Let's do this thing."

Goten gave a small smile and followed her into the house, up the stairs and into her room. Once there, Eva pulled out about five Capsules, which expanded into five large boxes.

"Well, I guess we should get started," Eva sighed. "You can go ahead. I gotta use the ladies' room. Help yourself into anything in the mini-fridge. We gotta empty it before we pack it anyway."

"She has a mini-fridge?" Goten muttered after she left. He looked into one of the corners of the bedroom, and sure enough was, there was a small refrigerator plugged in. "How could I not of noticed this?"

Shrugging, he decided to see what was inside.

"Snacks....ice...and 50 gallons of root beer?! What kind of life does she live?"

"The good life!!"

Goten jumped out of his skin and spun around to see a very smug looking Eva heading over to him. He started to stammer out something, but she simply pushed him out of the way and reached into the fridge. Goten barely reacted in time to catch the bottle of root beer and bag of chips she tossed at him. He looked at the foodstuffs, and then looked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Eat Son," she said as she opened her own bag of chips. "I know you're hungry. You're a Saiyan." She then wolfed her chips down, almost eating the bag with them, and immediately opened a second.

Goten shrugged and started snacking away. Around his fifth bag of junk food and her eighth, he decided he may as well talk with his host.

"So...what's the ice for?"

Eva stopped short from opening another bag and looked at him. At first, it seemed like she was angry that her meal had been interrupted, but then she shrugged and reached into the fridge. She pulled out two ice cubes, popped them into her mouth and started chewing them.

Goten just watched, blinking.

"It's a habit I picked up when I was little," she explained. "I'd chew on anything and everything so Dad just started shoving ice in my mouth."

"I never knew that," Goten said. "And I've known you since you were little."

"Well, when people find out about it, they tend to stare at me like I'm from outer space," she grinned. "It's not something I go around advertising. 'Hi! My name's Eva, and I can't put anything in my mouth without chewing on it!' "

Goten chuckled. "You know, if you introduced yourself like that, you probably wouldn't have to worry about any unwanted attention."

Eva paused as she tried to figure out exactly what he meant by that. Once she did, a shocked expression came over her face. "Eeewww!!" she shouted, hurling one of her crumpled snack bags at him. "You hentai! That's disgusting!"

He laughed as he ducked and dodged the barrage of foil bags. "Okay, okay! I deserve that! But to be fair, you sorta are from outer space!"

"Digging yourself deeper Son!" she shouted as she hurled her last bag particularly hard and hitting him right between the eyes.

He laughed and began to retaliate. The two spent a good twenty minutes just laughing and hurling foil balls at each other. The battle stopped when Eva suddenly shot out a small Ki blast. Goten cried out in surprise, but calmed down when he saw that she had only shot off the bottlecap to his root beer.

"Cheers, Goten," she smiled, raising her own open bottle. It was a sincere and happy smile that Goten found himself returning as he raised his bottle to hers.

"What are we toasting to?" he asked.

She shrugged. "To us. To our friendship of so...oh wait!"

"Huh?"

"I forgot," she grinned, dancing away to her bed. "You don't _appreciate_ my friendship and everything I've done for you!"

"Not this again," he sighed, covering his face with is free hand. "Look Eva, I said I was sorry! Can't you just drop it?"

"Did you hear something Kongy?" Eva asked as she scooped the teddy monkey up. "Do you think Trunks came by with Panny?"

"Oh, now that's low," Goten said in a hurt tone, even though he was grinning ear to ear. While the fun was being had at his expense, he was happy that Eva was still able to have fun at all. It was like she had forgotten all that happened to her recently.

Which of course meant it was time for a reminder.

A reminder that came in the form of white hellfire from the sky. The two teens barely had time to register that they had seen the flash of light before the Stone house was destroyed in an explosion of fire and brimstone.

"EVA!" Goten cried as he climbed to his feet. Scanning the burning wreckage, he found her, unharmed and standing in the center of what and once been her room. He was relived, but it was replaced with shock when he noticed that she wasn't so much as singed by the blast. The girl simply stood, staring off into oblivion. His shock became worry when he noticed the empty look in her eyes. He was about to call out again when he heard her speak.

"They killed Kongy," she whispered weakly. Her voice, which just moments ago had been so full of life and laughter, sounded dead. Defeated.

Goten looked to the floor. The teddy monkey lay in a pile of ash, slowly burning away to nothing.

"You **_BASTARDS!!_**" Eva screamed, exploding into her Super Saiyan form bolting straight up into the air. Goten tried to watch her through the smoke, but only saw another bright flash and heard Eva crash through what remained of the house and into the front yard. Flashing to his own Super Saiyan form, he raced toward her Ki signature at his top speed.

"Eva! Are you..."

He trailed to off when he found her struggling to her feet. The top half of her Gi had been reduced tatters and apparently, she didn't bother to wear a sports bra underneath it.

"Bastards," Eva whispered, her voice having gone from dead to fanatical. "First they took my Daddy, then my home, then my KONGY! I'll kill them! Destroy them!"

Goten simply stared in a shock of his own. Just as he was about to finally find a voice, he saw a black object hurled at Eva and his head was jerked away.

"Eva," he heard Trunks say, "kindly cover up so we go blow the shit out of that thing."

It was then that Goten realized he still hadn't seen what it was that attacked them. Twisting his head and moving his eyes, he looked above what had once been the Stone house.

The thing was a giant silver (_Dammit, what's that shape called again? _Goten thought._ Ah-HA!_) octahedron twice the size of the house it just had destroyed. It hovered ominously high in the sky, moving ever slowly toward the three Saiyan teens.

"Mind letting me go so I can help?" Goten asked.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Trunks smirked. "In a minute Don Juan."

"God I hate you."

Before Trunks could reply, both boys heard a zipping sound. Trunks let go of Goten and the two turned to see Eva, her torso now covered by her father's closed leather jacket. Her eyes were burning yellow with a hatred brighter than her hair and aurora combined.

Both Trunks and Goten simply nodded, transforming into Super Saiyans. Together, the three friends faced the giant and cupped their hands to their sides. While the boys each unleashed a Kamehameha Wave, Eva simply fired the most powerful blast she could summon. However, it was futile as all three simply deflected off a hexagonal force field that materialized at the last millisecond.

The boys cursed, but Eva screamed. She was still screaming when she streaked into the air in a collision course toward the octahedron. Goten was about to follow after her when he felt something. Like a sudden chill in the air.

"**EVA WATCH OUT!**"

In her rage, she was going to ignore him, but then felt the chill herself. She stopped in midair and watched as a beam of intense white light shot out of the shape's closest corner and right at her. Unable to think of anything else fast enough, Eva closed her eyes tight and crossed her arms in front of her face.

_I'll always be with you._

"Mommy?"

Eva never felt the blast hit. Rather, she _heard_ it collide with something else. Confused, she opened her eyes and lowered her arms slightly. What she saw confused her even more.

The Angel's energy beam was right on target, she could feel the heat from it, but a hexagonal force field had materialized between it and herself.

"What?" she whispered. "This can't be mine....can it?"

It was. She could feel the force field, feel the pressure and heat being pushed against it, like she felt her arm or her leg or any other part of her being.

"It can't hurt me," she whispered. She then grinned and cupped her hands at her side. "Ka...Me...Ha....Me..."

"She's doing it!" Goten exclaimed. "She actually doing it!"

"**KA!**"

"Or not," Goten sighed as both he and Trunks sweatdropped.

The mispronunciation didn't make any difference this time however, as Eva's attack bounced off her own shield, blasting her right in the face. She lost consciousness and plummeted toward the ground, her hair returning to black and shield vanishing as she did. Luckily for her, the impact with the Earth jarred her back into the land of the living.

"Owie," she groaned as she stumbled to her feet. Holding her head, she watched as her two friends picked up where she left off and had even worse luck than she did. Their attacks wound harmlessly bounce of the creature's shield, sometimes right back at them. The shield would then lower, and a blast would be fired, forcing the two teens to scatter and try again.

"Wait a minute," she whispered. "It has to lower its shield in order to attack. **TRUNKS! GOTEN! I'll distract it! Blast it while it's blasting me!** I hope I know how to work this thing..."

Powering back up, Eva became airborne again and hurled a massive Ki ball at the Angel. As she expected, it ricocheted off the force field. Taking a deep breath as she felt the air temperature drop several degrees, she flung her hands out in front of her. When the blast was fired, she closed her eyes tight and turned her head away.

She felt a sensation similar to a Ki blast leaving her hands and then heard the Angel's beam impact against something. Opening an eye, she saw that her own shield had materialized again. Playing on a hunch, she faced the Angel and channeled more power into her field. It intensified and became more visible, but in response, the power of the attack increased as well, pushing Eva back a few feet.

Eva grinned evilly. "We got you now you bastard." Igniting her aurora, she screamed "**_HIT IT NOW!_**"

Flying up and either side, Goten and Trunk again unleashed the most powerful attacks they could manage. This time, they hit their mark dead on, exploding on impact, followed by much cheering and high fives. And thus the boys were caught off guard when two energy beams cut through the smoke and shot them out of the sky.

"No fucking way," Eva whispered as the rest of the smoke parted. The Angel was still in one piece, black burn marks on two of its sides the only sign it had been hit at all. "Why do you even need a force field?" she asked the shape as she started to take her power back for an offensive strike. "You're a fuckin' **_fortress!_**"

As if to spite her, the Angel raised its shield to evade her assault, and then returned fire. Having expected this, Eva quickly pressed her fingers to her forehead and vanished.

"She ran away?!" Trunks asked as he watched the scene through his swelling eyes.

"You know her better than that," Goten snapped as he stumbled to his feet. "She's gotta have something planned. We just need to keep that geometry reject busy long enough for her to do it."

"You're right," Trunks sighed. "But mind telling me exactly _how_ we can do that?! Even without its force field we've barely scratched it!"

"Maybe it's time for us to do a little dance."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "God! Can't you just say we....wait a second. It's stopped moving."

"Huh?" Goten said as he looked up at the Angel.

Trunks was right. The octahedron had become completely still in the air. They waved, shot power blasts into the air and flared their auroras. There was no response.

"Maybe she knocked it out?" Goten offered.

Trunks shook his head. "Then why is it still floating there?" He took a few steps and than began fly to toward it. "It looks more mechanical than anything. Maybe we damaged its--"

He was cut off as a blast suddenly shot out of one of the corners, knocking him back to where he started and creating a small crater.

"Or it only attacks you when you get within a certain range," he muttered as he sat up.

The octahedron then began to move again. Away from the two Saiyans.

"It's heading in the direction of the city!" Goten shouted.

"Shit," Trunks spat. "All right Goten. Let's dance."

"_Or,_" a familiar voice said from behind them, "you ladies could calm down and let us help you."

"EVA!" the boys shouted as they spun around. When they did, they saw that she wasn't alone. Goku, Krillin, Gohan, Pan, Vegeta and Piccolo were with them. Goku and Eva were just removing their fingers from their forehead while everyone else removed their hands from the two Saiyans' shoulders.

"I thought you bolted," Trunks admitted.

"Please!" Eva laughed. "When have I ever let you guys down?"

Goten grinned. "Well, there was that time you stood me up at the prom."

"Sorry, the football team made me a better offer," she said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"All right kids," Goku said seriously, though he was smiling. "Joke later. Did you two learn anything while Eva was getting us?"

"Not much," Goten admitted. "After she teleported out of here, it became really still, not doing anything but floating there."

"Until I got close enough," Trunks added. "Then it fried me and started heading towards Satan City. Mind telling me where the **hell** all of you have been?"

"We were watching from a nice safe distance," Krillin said, sweating and rubbing the back of his head. "After all, no citizens were in danger and you three were keeping it busy."

"Fair enough," Goten said. "Except now, it's heading right back at us!"

Eva narrowed her eyes at the Angel as it was confirmed that it was indeed moving slowly towards the assembled Z Fighters. "I thought so," she whispered.

"What's that?" Trunks asked.

"I noticed while we were flying around and zapping it that it was focusing on me. Following me. I was locked onto Goku's Ki when I teleported, and found myself halfway between here and the city."

"So when it was still, it was trying to find you again," Goten finished.

She nodded. "And now that it's coming over here to finish the job."

Vegeta gave a 'hmpf' as spoke up. "That's all well and good, but if we hadn't been just standing here yakking like women--"

Pan and Eva shot him death glares.

"-- we could have destroyed that thing by now!"

"Good luck," Goten said coldly. "All three of us did our best and only gave it minor scorch marks."

"Fool," Vegeta scoffed. "Let me show you how a _real_ Saiyan does it!"

With that, he transformed to his highest power level and bolted at the Angel. He ignored Trunks's cries of protest and unleashed his most powerful attack. Due to Vegeta's superior speed, the Angel had no time to raise it's shield. Just like Trunks and Goten's attack, there was an explosion as the blast made contact. But also like last time, Vegeta's smirk was wiped from his face when a white beam cut right through the smoke.

And right through Vegeta's arm.

The Saiyan Prince cried out in pain as he held his stump and started to crash. Moving quickly, Goku caught his friend and called out. "PAN!"

"Yeah Granpa Goku?" Pan said as she rushed to her grandfather's side.

"Take Vegeta back to the Capsule Corp and get him into a regeneration chamber!"

"But--"

"Don't argue! I didn't bring any Senzu beans with me, so Vegeta will have to sit this one out. Now GO!"

Muttering her displeasure, Pan gripped Vegeta under his shoulders and took off at her top speed. When she was gone, Goku nodded and rejoined the group.

"Well, he left a bigger burn than us," Trunks sighed. "At least we know it can be beaten."

"We just need something strong enough," Goten added.

All eyes immediately turned to Goku.

"Hey, don't look at me!" he said. "There no way to tell how strong that armor is! And we're yet to break through one of those shields!"

"Great," Piccolo sighed as he tossed off his cape and turban. "So unless anybody else has any ideas, we'll just have to wail on it and hope for the best."

"Actually," Eva said, raising her hand, "I think I got one."

"Well," Goku said, "out with it!"

Eva nodded, turning to look at the Angel as it drew ever closer. "I don't know why or how, but I got my own force field, just like blocky here. It's independent of my Ki, but by channeling my Ki _into_ it, I can make it bigger and stronger."

"Really? Wow!" Goku exclaimed as they all flew away from the Angel since it was getting too close for their comfort.

"Since it's targeting me anyway," Eva continued as they landed about a quarter of a mile away, "I'll cover you guys while you all charge your most powerful attack."

"Will that be enough to break the field and the armor?" Krillin asked. "Both seem invincible from everything you guys have said."

Eva shook her head. "It can't do offense and defense at the same time. Neither of us can. Which is just as well as I'll be putting everything I have into my shield. And can't pronounce Kamehe worth beans." She winked at Trunks and Goten.

Piccolo nodded his approval. "If we all focus on one spot and give it everything we got, it just might work."

"If Piccolo likes it, it's good enough for me!" Krillin said. "So should we move closer to it our what?"

Eva's eyes suddenly went wide. "No time. Start charging right now."

"Huh?!" Goten exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah!" Trunks added. "We're still well out of range."

Eva shot them a glance. "I can see our breath."

She then spun around and held out her arms just in time for her shield to catch the brightest blast from the Angel yet.

"All right! You all heard the girl!" Piccolo shouted as he put his fingers to his forehead in a position similar to that of Instant Transmission. "We're only gonna get one shot! Let's make it count!"

"Ka..." started Goku.

"...Me..."continued Krillin.

"...Ha..." Gohan.

"...Me..." Goten.

"...Ha..." Trunks.

Eva heard the others behind her, and sent the first burst of Ki into her shield as she took a step forward. In response to this, she felt the force being exerted against her increase.

"You're scared, aren't you?" she smirked as she continued to push forward, channeling even more power into her shield. "Some where in there is a brain and it's just aware enough to realize you're about to become scrap!"

The power of the blast suddenly intensified and Eva felt herself being pushed back. Growling, she flared her aurora and dug her feet into the ground. Giving the barrier another burst of power, she again started to push back.

"I am...Son...Eva...STONE! Father of the mighty Brick...Pupil of the legendary Goku....the world's first....and ONLY....female Super Saiyan! You will not beat me...I will have my REVENGE!!"

Eva gave another jolt to her shield, but instead of moving forward, she was nearly thrown off her feet when the Angel increased its power as well. Her feet actually sunk into the earth up to her ankles as she pushed her hardest against the Angel's attack. However, try as she might, she could not regain her previous ground.

_Not good,_ Goku though as he continued to charge his attack. Glancing at the grass at his feet, he confirmed that it was frosted over. _That thing is giving her everything it's got and it sounds like it might be too much for her. Plus she's starting to sound fanatical again...like Vegeta. We should probably attack now..._

"**_NO!_**" Eva screamed, as if she were reading Goku's thoughts. "**_Piccolo's right! We probably won't get another shot like this! Give this bastard everything you have!_**"

With that, Eva screamed again. Her hair erupted into its Super Saiyan red and her shield became an orange even more blinding than the attack it was blocking. Pouring all of her remaining strength into her task, she started to rip free of the Earth's hold and into the air.

Goku couldn't help but beam with pride at his pupil. _I hope you're watching Brick._

"_...Ha...Me...Ha...Me..._" continued the Z Fighters in perfect unison.

"**_NOW!_**" Eva cried. "**_AIM FOR THE CENTER!!_**"

She really would have liked for them for keep charging just a little longer, but she could feel her strength starting to give. It was apparently worse than she thought, as she only meant to lower the field slightly, just enough for their attack to get past, and her arms went completely limp.

"Shit."

"**_HA!_**"

"**Special Beam Cannon!**"

It happened almost simultaneously. Eva was consumed by the Angel's beam, but the Z Fighters' aim was true. The combined attack broke through the Angel's metallic armor like a wrecking ball through glass and burst out the other side. The octahedron was wracked by a series of internal explosions that drowned out Eva's screams of agony. As it's frame started to crack and catch fire, its beam finally ceased. As it plummeted and crashed to the ground, so did Eva.

The second they were sure that the burning wreckage was dead and wouldn't cause any more trouble, everyone immediately rushed to the young Stone's side. She was not a pretty sight.

"Oh God," choked Goten. "OhGodohGodohGodohGod...."

"I'm glad you sent Pan away Dad," Gohan whispered. "She couldn't handle seeing her Aunt like this..."

"She's burned to a crisp," Trunks whispered in horror.

"But she's alive," Krillin said, removing his hand from checking her pulse. "Barely. Goku, you need to teleport to Korin's and get some Senzu beans. Fast!"

"Right," the Saiyan said with a nod. He was about to do just that when Pan suddenly dropped out of the sky. Tears in her eyes, the young demi-Saiyan gently placed a Senzu bean in her Auntie Eva's mouth and then ran to her father, hugging him tightly.

Eva chewed twice and suddenly bolted into a sitting position and looked herself over. She was healed, but the bottom of her ruined Gi was little more than a burned rag and her father's leather jacket was nothing but burned scraps. Still looking at herself, she stood up, seemingly unaware of the friends and adopted family she was now flashing. Her gaze came to rest on her necklace, which was miraculously unharmed and resting between her breasts. Tears filled her eyes.

"Mommy....Daddy...,"she whispered. So softly that she barely heard it herself.

She crossed her arms across her chest, but more to hug herself than to cover up.

Had he seen this, Goten would more than likely have gone to try and comfort his friend. However, he, Trunks and Krillin had respectfully turned away. Gohan was busy trying to comfort Pan, so he was unaware as well.

Only Goku and Piccolo watched Eva, and with very different expressions on their faces. Goku was worried, frightened, while Piccolo seemed angry and impatient. The two elder fighters looked at each other. The Saiyan gave the Namekian a pleading look. Piccolo sighed, nodded and walked over to the crying girl.

Eva was oblivious to his approach. That is, until she slowly realized that her Gi had been repaired. Eyes wide, she looked up just in time to see Piccolo lower his hand.

"So the Three Stooges there will stop drooling," the Namek said simply, jerking his thumb toward Krillin, Trunks and Goten.

Eva blinked a couple times, blushed slightly and nodded. She then held up a burned piece of leather. "My Daddy's jacket?"

Piccolo sighed, rolled his eyes and raised his arm again. Within seconds, the jacket was as a good as new. Eva smiled and moved to hug the Namek, but he motioned for her to stop.

"I don't do hugging."

Eva was obviously disappointed, but only nodded.

"You did well today," Piccolo continued. "But you need to understand that we are at war with these Angels. It's us or them, and we don't have time to cry over every loss."

"But my house!"

"I understand. I felt much the same way when the Lookout was destroyed, but I didn't cry over it. Like your house, it is something that can be rebuilt or replaced. The sooner you learn this, the stronger you'll be."

"I...I understand," Eva whispered softly.

_I sure hope so,_ Goku thought as the others went to comfort the girl. _It obvious your body can survive a lot Eva. But after today, I'm worried your mind might not be as strong..._

_"We can't afford to be innocent  
__Stand up and face the enemy  
__It's a do-or-die situation  
__We will be invincible"  
_–Pat Benetar

**End Credits:  
**If you were reading this story back in 2003, you might want to know that I've gone back and edited the previous chapters. Nothing major, really. Mostly, I updated the forwards and ANs and fixed up typos that I keep finding. (I swear, I do have editors. It is **impossible** to catch **ALL** of these.) Also, I changed a couple of minor plot points:

The crystal in Eva's necklace now has a gold casing (which you may or may not have noticed in this chapter). This may seem pointless now, but it will become important in later chapters.

I changed Brick's Saiyan name from Slade to "Rokkon" because I wanted something that sounded more alien. (Plus it sounds like "Rock on!" :P)

I also decided to go with the dub and use "Uub" instead of "Ubuu" when a friend pointed out to me it makes a bit more sense. (And yes, he will be making at least one more appearance in this saga. Possibly two.)

Visual reference: Evangelion's 5th Angel (though I'm sure anyone who's seen the show figured that out).

Oh yeah, and I added "chapter previews" like the one below. Of course, if reviews are any indication, no one is reading this fic and I'm wasting my time explaining all this. Oh well.

**Preview Of Next Chapter:  
**_Matters of the heart are never simple.  
__They rip and pull at you  
__until you're not sure which way is up,  
__and which way is down.  
__How close is too close?  
__When do you stop being "just friends"  
__and become something so much more?  
__A simple ring of the phone turns my already chaotic world on its head.  
__I wasn't home so they left a message:  
__"I care."_

**_Plan B_**


	5. Plan B

**Author's Note/Foreword:** "I'm back baby." lights cigar

---------

Bulma sighed as the phone rang, interrupting her study of a shard of the fortress Angel. She dug around the papers covering her table until she finally found the cordless phone. _Damn,_ she thought. _I'm really getting sloppy._

"Hello, Capsule Corp. Main Lab. Bulma speaking. No, Eva's not here. Yeah, she normally has lessons today, but I gave her the day off. May I take a message?"

She quickly grabbed a pen and a random sheet of paper and jotted the phone number down.

"All righty. And what did you say your name was?"

The speaker replied, and Bulma dropped the phone.

**Plan B**

"Eva?" Trunks called as he wandered around the wilderness surrounding the Son house. "Eva, you around?"

"Up here, Trunks," came the reply. The teenage girl was sitting on a ledge, staring off into space. "How'd you find me? I got my Ki as low as it'll go."

"Oh come on," Trunk said as he floated up and then sat next to her. "You know we know you better than that."

"And you know I always pick a new spot when someone figures out the old one."

Trunks chuckled. "Which is why I've been looking for over an hour. What's up, kid?"

"Don't call me that."

Trunks nodded, and the two sat in silence for a few minutes.

"What did your mom tell you?" Eva asked, still staring off into space.

"Just that you probably needed a friend right about now."

She nodded. "Someone called to offer their condolences about Daddy passing away."

"Well, I can see why--"

"It was Makoto."

Silence.

"You mean that asshole who…"

"Treated me like shit and left me for some scank in America, yeah."

"Guy must balls of steel to even pretend to be…"

"Trunks?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I'm not sure he was pretending…I think he actually cares…"

"WHAT!"

Eva winced. "Well, why else would he call?"

"Eva, do you remember how you met the guy in the first place?"

"What that got to do with anything?"

"It was the anniversary of your Mom's death. You had a huge fight with your Dad and bolted off to cry somewhere."

"Yeah, and he comforted me 'cause you guys couldn't find me!"

"Exactly. And every time you wanted to do something with us, he used that to guilt you into going out with him instead."

She sighed. "During which he didn't do anything but try to get to second and third base…"

"Guy was worse than Roshi."

"He wasn't that bad…"

"Eva."

"I know, I know! But…he really was there for me…"

"Only when you were down and vulnerable. When you told him about your perfect test scores, he didn't give a rat's ass. Me and Goten took you out to celebrate."

"…and he took his sweet time to call when Daddy's death has been on all the world news…"

"Scank probably dumped him."

"Yeah…"

Another silence.

"Thanks for talking some sense into me, Brief."

"Anytime Stone. Or is it Son now?"

Eva made a face of mock disgust. "God no! That means I'm related to Goten!" She pretended to shutter.

Trunks laughed.

"Speaking of Goten," Eva said, growing serious. "Don't tell him about the call, okay?"

Trunks raised an eyebrow.

"If you do, he's likely to jet to America and atomize the guy."

"Can't say I'm not tempted to do the same thing."

"Me either, but he's just not worth it. Energy better spent sparring, y'know?"

Trunks smiled. "Point made. All right. Consider my lips sealed."

Eva smiled back and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace.

The Lookout:

"I don't know Goku," Piccolo said. "She seems fine now."

"Yeah, _now,_" Goku said as he paced. "Goten tells me she was laughing right before the last attack, and we all saw how she acted during and afterwards."

"But we'll need those wishes to restore everything the Angels have destroyed."

"But who knows how long it'll take to destroy them all," Gohan offered. "Plus, each one has gotten tougher, or had some kind of advantage. Brick was able to see the first one's weakness as soon as he transformed."

"And we could really use his firepower," Goku added.

Vegeta hmphed. "I'm afraid I agree with Kakarott on this one. The girl hasn't been herself and Rokkon is one of our strongest warriors."

Piccolo sighed. "All right. I concede that wishing Brick back to life would be a wise strategic move and would be good for the girl's mental health, but why does Goku have to be the one to go?"

" 'Cause I'm the only one who can teleport besides Eva, and she's likely to get so excited that she words the wish wrong and end up with a bunch of rocks."

Piccolo sighed again and nodded. "Fine, but hurry back."

"You got it!" Goku grinned. "I'm off, and when I'm back, I'll give Eva the best souvenir ever!"

"That's WONDERFUL!"

Everyone jumped in surprise and spun around just in time to see Eva, dressed her in battle suit, glomp onto Goku and squeeze him tightly.

"What are you doing here girl!" Vegeta cried.

"I wanted to spar with you or Goku 'cause Trunks and Goten kept whining that I use my force field," Eva replied. "But this is even better!" She moved from hugging Goku to hugging Vegeta faster than the eye could blink.

"Guess we don't need to ask how much she heard," Gohan sighed as he sweatdropped.

Piccolo was about to say something but was cut off when Eva suddenly started hugging him. "Knock it off!" he yelled as he pushed her away.

Eva did stop hugging, and instead started dancing around happily with the biggest grin on her face.

"Well, I'd better be off," Goku sighed. "Be back soon."

And with that, be pressed his fingers to his forehead and was gone.

"Souvenirs! _Souvenirs!_" Eva sang happily as she danced. She then suddenly stopped, looking off into space. Her expression turned grim. "Of course," she muttered as she activated the lancer retrieval device.

"An Angel?" Gohan asked.

"Yes," Piccolo replied, following Eva's glance. "How did you know?"

"Does it matter?" Eva asked as she caught her lancer. "Let's go!"

The Sacred World of the Kais:

"Brick, I realize you're excited about the idea of being restored to life, but the halo will remain until the wish is granted."

"Less talking more pulling!"

Earth:

_Damn,_ Eva thought as she, Gohan, Vegeta and Piccolo approached the desolate island where the Angel awaited them. _These things just get uglier and uglier._

The creature slowly walking out of the ocean and onto the shore was just barely recognizable as humanoid. In fact, it reminded Eva of Pan's old finger painting portraits. IE: A giant smear with offshoots that served as arms and legs. It was mostly black, with only two real exceptions. One, of course being the bright red core in the center of what passed for its torso. The other was a stone like circle a few feet above the core. It was shaped like a Yin Yang, only gold and silver rather than black and white. The Yin Yang's gold and silver "dots" blinked like eyes as the Angel looked up in their general direction. As the fighters slowed to a hovering halt, Eva was relieved to see that, unlike the ones before it, this Angel couldn't be more than 10 feet tall.

Eva looked away from the Angel when she felt other power levels approaching. Goten and Trunks finally arrived, looking embarrassed for being late. She was slightly surprised to see Krillin, Tien and Yamcha arrive as well.

"Didn't think we were gonna let you guys have all the fun, did you?" Yamcha said with a smirk.

"Believe me Yamcha," Krillin said, "the last one was anything but fun."

"You humans may as well leave now," Vegeta growled. "Let the real warriors handle this."

"Not so fast Vegeta," Piccolo said. "We don't have Goku this time. We could use all the power we can get."

"Where is the big guy anyway?" Krillin asked.

"New Namek by now," Gohan said. "He's gonna wish Brick back to life."

Eva smiled despite herself. "Besides Uncle Veggie," she said. "Didn't you say that the last time?"

Vegeta's arm tensed, soon followed by the rest of his body. "Well, we're standing around yakking like women just like last time! It's just standing there staring at us! Why aren't we killing it!"

"Good point," Eva said as she transformed to her Super Saiyan form and folded her lancer in half. "Let me go fix that!"

Ignoring the shouts for her to wait, Eva charged forward, her lancer held like a sword above her head. The Angel looked up and blinked just in time to be sliced right down the middle.

"Well I'll be damned," Goten said, blinking himself.

Eva floated above the remains, lancer causally resting on her shoulder and a smug expression on her face. "A fight should be clean and elegant without waste."

"Never thought I'd hear a Saiyan say that," Yamcha muttered.

"She's not just Saiyan," Trunks said in a slightly mocking tone. "She's Madar."

"The halves are moving!" Krillin shouted suddenly.

"Wha…?" Eva said, looking down. Indeed, the two halves were shuddering as if they were still alive. "But I cut right through the core…"

The two halves suddenly morphed into two slightly smaller versions of the Angel, one silver and the other gold. The two new Angels stood up straight, revealing two glowing and very much intact cores.

"Crap!" Eva called out raising her force field just in time to block a strike from the gold creature. However, she was unable to move fast enough to evade a strike from the silver one, which quickly attacked from behind.

The other Z Fighters wasted no time, attacking before the girl even had time to cry out. By the time she had righted herself, chaos ruled the island. The Angels moved with impossible speed, even by their standards. She dodged a punch from the gold one at the same time the silver one sent Yamcha and Tien sailing out of control.

"I think we're in trouble," she whispered.

The Sacred World of the Kais:

"No shit," Brick whispered as he watched his daughter and friends get wailed on by the Angelic duo. "Dammit! Why am I still dead?"

"Patience, Brick," Shin said. "There are many factors to consider. You of all people should know about Goku's...absent mind--"

"Yeah," Brick growled. "I also know that he can grow a brain when he really needs to. What I **don't** know is what's going on with my daughter! How did she know about the Angel? Or that force field of hers?"

"Well, I think I can answer most of your questions in that area," said a new voice. A voice that caused Brick's blood to suddenly run cold.

"Ah, Kibito," Shin said happily. "You've returned with our new guest."

"No," Brick snarled spinning around to face the newcomer. "What the **hell** are _you_ doing here?"

Earth:

Vegeta was a bullet, slamming into the golden Angel with a force that shook the very island. Even if the creature had been sentient enough in the first place, there was no way for it to know what had hit it. Somehow, over the Saiyan's screams of rage and the Angel's roars of pain, the other Z Fighters thought they heard the sound of the core cracking.

However, weather they did or not soon proved irrelevant as the silver Angel grabbed Vegeta by the hair and ripped him away from its other half. It then slammed the Saiyan Prince into the ground, cracking the very Earth. Vegeta was motionless as his hair faded from gold to black.

Gohan soared over to check on his comrade only to be greeted what passed for the golden Angel's fist. As her adopted brother went sailing past, Eva charged, her lancer fully powered and raised to strike, only for her to stop short.

Eva watched in shock as the golden Angel's core, which had indeed been cracked by Vegeta's assault, slowly sealed itself back together. "No fucking w--"

Her vulgarity was cut off when the silver creature's eyes flashed, engulfing her in blinding white light. The attack sent her reeling out of control until she crashed hard onto the beach, which proved fortunate as the sand smothered the flames.

"You all right Eva?" Krillin asked as he limped over to the girl.

"I'll live," she muttered as she sat up, holding her bleeding head. "Dammit, nothing we do seems to hurt these things. Thing. Whatever!"

"Well actually," Krillin said, pointing upwards.

Curious, Eva followed the human's gesture, and her eyes doubled in size.

Trunks and Goten were each facing off against one of the Angels, and each holding their own without any trouble. "What the...?"

"I guess it sort of makes sense," Krillin said as he watched the ariel ballet. "After all, their blows haven't really felt that powerful. They're just crazy fast! They nail us before we can even aim a punch."

"But then why are those two holding their own?" Eva asked. "They aren't as fast as Gohan or Vegeta...Of course!"

" 'Of course' what? Hey watch the hair!"

Eva grabbed Krillin by the head and shoved his face closer to the battle. "Look at those two!" she shouted, indicating Trunk and Goten. "They're each making the exact same move at the exact same time!"

"Yeah, it's a result of their Fusion training," Krillin said. "You can let go of me anytime now."

"But think about it! Never once have the Angels gotten in each other's way! While Tien is now out of commission because you and Yamcha didn't see him get it the way of your attacks."

"Oh sure bring that up..."

"The Angels are in perfect sync with each other. Itself. Whatever! But so are Trunks and Goten!"

Krillin grinned as he realized what he meant. "So all we have to do is sit back and stay out of the way and those two will take care of this guy for us!"

"Yes!" Eva cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

Just then, the two Saiyan teens hit their respective targets with a powerful snap kick. The two Angels collided with each other, but instead of impacting and falling away, there was a disgusting squishing sound. Next thing either of the two teens knew, the original, larger Angel grabbed each of them by the head and bashed their skulls together with a deafening impact.

"Dammit," Eva sighed as she let got of Krillin, who immediately fell face first into the sand.

Sacred World of the Kais:

"I repeat," Brick snarled, "what the hell are you doing here?"

The attractive young woman closed her calming blue eyes and titled her head to the side. "Well, Shin invited me of course," she replied. Her ebony hair was grown in such a way that her soft face was framed by her bangs.

Brick instantly turned his glare to the Supreme Kai. "You **what?**"

"I invited Yui to join us here and watch the events on Earth," Shin replied.

"**_Why?_**" Brick yelled, stomping toward the smaller purple man. "Do you have any idea what this thing is!"

"Yes, I do," Shin replied, his eyes narrowing at the Saiyan. "And **she** has much right to be here as you. Eva is her daughter too, after all."

Both Shin and Brick glared at each other, not saying a word for several long minutes. Eventually, Brick turned his heated gaze toward his former wife, who continued to smile warmly in return. No one said a word.

Finally, Brick returned his attention back to the crystal ball and resumed watching the battle in silence.

Earth:

"Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!" Eva cried as she deflected several blows from the silver half of the Angel with her force field before knocking it back with a deluxe sized Ki attack. "We beat the big one and it splits. Goten and Trunks start to win against Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb and they mush back together! It's really starting to piss me off!"

"Maybe Piccolo can split himself in half," Krillin suggested as he hurled a Destructio Disk at the golden Angel, and missed by a mile. "That way--"

"No good!" Piccolo retorted as he leapt over a blow from the silver half. "My strength and speed would be cut in half, and even then, I'm not nearly as in synch as this thing is."

The Namekian unleashed a Special Beam Cannon. The attack hit the silver half's core dead on, but unfortunately sent it flying directly into its golden counterpart, causing the two to become one once again. The Angel immediately joined its blobs of fists together and delivered a joined uppercut that sent Piccolo flying out of sight over the horizon.

"That's it," Eva whispered as the Angel turned its attention to beating on Yamcha. "This thing is it's most powerful when it's together. _Fused!_"

"I see what you mean," Gohan said, watching as Goten and Trunks attacked from either side, rescuing Yamcha, but putting themselves in jeopardy. "But if they fuse and it splits, they'd be outnumbered."

"Dammit!" Eva cursed. "Why must there always be a problem!"

She, Krillin and Gohan then scattered as the Angel slammed into the ground where they had been moments before. It was about to give chase when it was hit by Trunks and Goten hurling Ki blasts from above. It batted most of the attacks aside, leaving it distracted and allowing Eva to come up from beneath it and slice it neatly up the middle with her charged lancer. Of course, this simply allowed for another separation. However, before the halves could make a move against their opponents, the two Saiyan teens came down on them, their knees slamming into what one would assume was their face.

While the Angel was regaining itself, the teens landed and unleashed a massive hail of energy blasts, keeping it further off balance.

"Don't think any of us expected them to use their training like this," Gohan said as his brother and friend began doing a series of backward flips to evade the Angels' return fire.

"Yeah," Krillin nodded. "But how long can they keep it up before they merge again?"

"I don't know," Eva said, the worry obvious in her voice. "There's gotta be a way to beat this thing. There's gotta..."

"The face..."

The three Z Fighters turned around to see Tien weakly pulling himself onto his hands and knees. "It's face," he repeated. "Watch it when they join..."

As if on cue, the other turned back to the battle just as Goten and Trunks delivered a spinning kick that sent the Angels back into each other, and back into one body.

Quickly taking to the air for a better view, Eva saw it, but barely. Where the Angel's Yin Yang-like circle had been when they first saw it, was an empty hole. Then, almost too fast to see, the silver half moved back into place, followed immediately by the gold.

"I don't believe it," Eva muttered as she disappeared and reappeared back by Krillin and Gohan. "Did you guys catch that?"

"Yeah," Gohan nodded, watching the Angel attack the two Super Saiyans with a vengeance. "The eye or whatever it is locked back into place when they re-joined."

"Now that you mention it," Krillin said, "I thought I saw that thing retract just before Eva's lancer hit..."

"And you didn't think to tell us before now!" Eva demanded, glaring at the monk.

"It's fast," Tien said, forcing himself to his feet. "I barely caught it myself."

"The question now becomes," Gohan said, "now that we know, what do we do? It seems to have caught on that our boys are the biggest threat and probably won't let itself be separate till they're out of the picture."

"Maybe," Eva said slowly, "we don't want it to separate..."

"What are talking about!" Krillin shouted. "Of course we do! The big one is crazy strong! We only stand a chance against the little two!"

"But it's like I said before," Eva insisted. "It's stronger when it's _fused!_ And so are the biggest threat!"

"So if we find a way to stop it from separating," Gohan said as the realization dawned on him.

"And give Goten and Trunks time to perform the Fusion Dance," Krillin continued.

"Right!" Eva nodded.

"Well, you guys need to get to work," Yamcha said as he pulled himself out of the sand. " 'Cause our boys are getting their asses beat."

"On it!" Krillin shouted as he ignited his white aurora and took off. He collided head first with the Angel, which was knocked back by the unexpected assault. However, it didn't take long for it to recover and return the favor. It stomped Krillin into the ground, and when it raised its foot back up, the human did not move.

"Let's go Tien!" Yamcha shouted before going to avenge his smaller friend.

"Right behind you!" Tien replied before taking off as well.

"Go give them a hand!" Eva commanded. "I'll go fill in the guys!"

"Right!" Gohan shouted. He crashed into the Angel just as it had finished using the last two human fighters as symbols. It moved to punch him in the face, but he ducked under the blow and kicked it hard in the side.

"You guys okay?" Eva asked as her two best friends struggled back to their feet, their hair back to its original colors.

" 'Tis but a scratch," Goten said lamely as he nearly lost his balance.

"Yeah, I've had worse," Trunks nodded. "Can't think of any right now, but..."

"This isn't the time to show off how macho you aren't!" Eva shouted, catching them both off guard. "You guys need to get some space and perform the Fusion Dance now!"

"Are you nuts!" Goten insisted. "I mean yeah, Gotenks is strong but if that thing splits again--"

"Don't worry about that," Eva said, smirking. "I've got a plan."

"That's hardly comforting," Trunks muttered.

"Shut up," she growled. "Now, both of you, dance like you want to win!"

She then flared her aurora and took her turn to bullet into the Angel just in the nick of time. She pulled her lancer back, and, charging it with as much power as she could spare, made to strike not the Angel's core, but the stone face.

However, even in its larger form, the Angel was still horribly fast. With a strange sound that was both a menacing roar and a startled screech, it knocked the lancer out of Eva's grip and the kicked her hard in the side. She was knocked into the sand, and before she could even think about getting back up, it was upon her.

Or it would have been, had four green Namekian arms not burst onto the scene and ensnared the creature's arms and legs.

Blinking in surprise, Eva stared as two Piccolos, one on each side of the Angel, struggled to hold the monster in place.

"Stop gawking!" the Namekians shouted in perfect unison. "Hurry up and do whatever it is you're going to do! I can't hold this thing much longer!"

"Right!" Eva shouted, recharging her Ki. _No time to wait for the retrieval device,_ she thought as she instead sent the power into her open hand. With a scream, she leapt at the Angel and slammed her palm onto the Yin Yang.

Eva's scream was soon joined by the Angel's own as it convulsed and struggled harder. Finally, the beast let out a deafening roar and ripped free from the Piccolos' grip, using them as the bread for an Eva sandwich.

The three warriors collapsed in a heap onto the sand, Eva's hair fading to black and all of them tangled in the Piccolos' extended arms. Groaning, Eva looked up as a shadow fell over them and was greeted by the visage of the Angel, it's Yin Yang glowing red hot like molten lava.

Making another strange sound, this one a mixture of anger and satisfaction, it raised both of its fists into the air. It was about to bring them down on the helpless trio when it was knocked back by a blinding beam of golden energy.

"_I'm baaaaaaack!_"

New Namek:

One would think that with their village being the center of so many events significant to the fate of the universe, the members of a certain Namekian village would be used to people suddenly showing up out of no-where. However, the fact of the matter is that these said events are years, sometimes even over a decade, apart, giving the villagers plenty of time to move on and readjust to the status quo.

Therefore, it still startled the bejeezus out of more than a couple of them when Son Goku simply _appeared_ smack dab in the center of the village during the middle of a festival celebration.

"Hiya!" the Saiyan said cheerfully, apparently oblivious to the fact many of the people he was greeting were clutching their chests.

"Hey!" one of the villagers suddenly shouted. "That's Son Goku!"

"The legendary hero that destroyed Frieza?" another asked.

"It is him! He has returned!"

It was then that the Namekians recovered from their initial shock and Goku received a brief glimpse into the life of a rock star.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Goku shouted over the gathering crowd. "Gosh, I'm flattered you guys remember that after all this time, but I came by 'cause I really to ask your permission to use the Dragonballs..."

"Of course," chuckled a stout, elder Namekian as the crowd parted to allow him to reach the visitor. "You Earthlings never come by for a social call, do you?"

"Yeah, sorry," Goku said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I know I should, but..."

"It's all right," the Elder said. "However, I'm afraid we cannot help you this time."

Goku blinked. "What?"

Earth:

Eva wasn't sure what surprised her more about the reborn Gotenks: how much he looked like a teenage version of the unconscious Saiyan Prince, or the fact he was so arrogant that he made Vegeta look hopelessly insecure.

"He's playing with it," she whispered as the Fusion casually dodged another of the Angel's attacks. "The arrogant son of two bitches is playing with it."

Aside from the initial attack to gain the Angel's attention, Gotenks had taken little to no actions against the creature. He had both taken or dodged every attack, even performed the standard "disappear and reappear behind the enemy," but the only time he made any kind of offensive move was when it tried to switch targets from him to one of the other disabled Z Fighters.

She would have destroyed the Angel herself, while it was distracted, if it weren't for the fact she had put so much energy into welding the Yin Yang together. As she was now, she doubted she could teleport, let alone fight.

Her comrades weren't in any better shape. Tien, Yamcha and Krillin were out cold and wouldn't be doing much of anything any time soon. Gohan and Vegeta were also unconscious, and while they were beginning to stir, it would be a while before they could rejoin the fight. And while Piccolo had been able to reform back into one body, his arms were still extended, tangled and just not wanting to right themselves.

The good news in all of this was that her theory seemed to be correct. Since welding the Yin Yang together, the Angel had not once split itself in two. It has paused several times as if it were attempting to do so, but taunts from Gotenks always sent it back into a berserker rage.

The bad news however, was that time was against them. Trunks and Gotenks would only remained fused for half an hour, and after they separated, it would be an hour before they could perform the dance again. From their previous battles, she knew the two boys didn't stand much of a chance against the Angel as individuals, and she doubted that she and the others would recover enough by then to put up any kind of a fight, let alone stall for an hour.

To make matters worse, Eva had no way of telling how much time Gotenks had left. She had passed out after his arrival and had no idea how long she bad been out before Piccolo had managed to shake her back into consciousness. Add that to the fact it felt like she had been watching the "battle" for hours, she was beginning to panic.

_Okay, think_, she thought. _There has to be a way to motivate the stupid bastard. He's a Fusion, a combination of Trunks and Goten, and no one knows those two better than me. What can I do to appeal to those two...boys. Those teenage...hormonal...heterosexual...boys._

_...Well, it's worth a shot._

"Hey Gotenks!" she cried. "You defeat that Angel in the next thirty seconds, and I'll give you a peek at my breasts!"

The Sacred World of the Kais:

"**_WHAT!_**"

Earth:

Gotenks stared down at Eva in shock, oblivious to the Angel's fist pressed hard against his cheek. "_What...what did you say?_"

"You destroy that thing in thirty seconds," Eva said seductively, "and I'll let you see what Goten and Trunks have only dreamed about."

"_You mean it? You'll really let me see?_"

"Thirty seconds," she replied, cradling her hands behind her head and putting out her chest suggestively. "Starting now."

Without another word, Gotenks vanished, causing the Angel to fall face first into the sand. Reappearing high above the island, the Fusion screamed, his aurora exploding to life and his hair blazing to gold. He screamed louder and his hair spiked. He screamed louder still and it was suddenly past his waist.

Eva blinked. "Holy shit."

The Angel climbed back to its feet, and Gotenks struck, coming down on the monster with a thunderous kick to the core. For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze as the impact gave tremendous shockwave and nearly knocked Eva and Piccolo off their feet. The two combatants then went crashing through the island, leaving a trail of destruction that practically ripped it in half. There was a tidal wave as they hit water followed by an explosion that forced Eva and Piccolo to shield their eyes before they were sent flying back several yards.

"God did that suck!" Eva shouted as she coughed up sand and weakly pushed herself off of the ground. She had just finished dusting herself off when Gotenks suddenly appeared in front of her, smirking. "Oh..."

"_Twenty nine point ninety nine,_" he said smugly. "_Pay up, sugar._"

"Oh, all right," she said, giving the boy a smile. "A deal's a deal after all."

She held up her right wrist and was about to adjust her battle suit when there was another flash of light. When it faded, she was greeted with Trunk and Goten, who each stared back with looks of anticipation.

_Thank God_, she thought. Aloud, she said. "Oh well. Better luck next time boys."

"Huh?" the two said in unison. They then looked at each other. "Ah!"

She chuckled. "Maybe that'll teach your alter ego a lesson in time management."

"Now wait a second Eva!" Goten called.

"You said it yourself," Trunks said. "A deal's a deal."

"You're right," Eva nodded. "But I made a deal with Gotenks, not you two. Come talk to me in an hour." She then turned and began to walk away. "Till then you can keep dreaming."

New Namek:

"What do you mean you can't let me use the Dragonballs?" Goku asked. "Is this because I interrupted your festival?"

"It's not that," Mori replied. "Normally we'd be more than happy to summon the Dragon for you, but I'm afraid someone has beaten you to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Parunga has already been summoned, the wishes already made. Someone came to our village and made off with the Dragonballs like a thief in the night. By the time we realized what had happened, it was too late. We were able to recover the Dragonballs, but they were stone. We don't even know what wishes were made."

"When this happen?"

"Eight days ago."

_That's more than a week_, Goku repeated mentally. _Before the first Angel even showed up. It's as if...it's almost as if someone wants to make sure Brick stays dead..._

"Well," he said aloud, "that's just wonderful."

_"I close my eyes when it gets too sad  
__I think thoughts that I know are bad  
__Close my eyes and I count to ten  
__Hope it's over when I open them  
__I want the things that I had before  
__Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door  
__I wish I could count to ten  
__Make everything be Wonderful again_

_I close my eyes when I go to bed and I  
__dream of Angels who make me smile  
__I feel better when I hear them say  
__'Everything will be Wonderful someday' "  
_–Everclear

**End Credits:  
**April 15, 2005

I know, I know. "About time" right?

I don't what the deal was with this chapter. I tried ever trick I knew to get past my writer's block. I asked for help from my friends and fellow writers. I watched tons of DBZ and Evangelion Anime. I wrote future chapters for this saga. I wrote scenes for future sagas. I even wrote a Dragonball NGE "movie"! But every attempt to write this particular story yielded little to no results.

Then, a couple of days ago, I realized that I could probably have WordPerfect, Power DVD and Windows Media Player (with my Evanescence play list) all run at the same time. I also eventually remembered that I own and found the fourth volume of the Evangelion magna.

Needless to say it worked, and I now have the final Asuka/Shinji/7th Angel fight forever scorched into my brain.

Angel Visual Reference: Evangelion's 7th Angel, episode 9. If you watch only one Evangelion episode, this should be it. (At least, until I re-watch the series again and recommend another one...)

And yes, as a matter of fact I did have to work that line into the story.

**Preview Of Next Chapter:  
**_There is an old saying:  
__"If you want to make God laugh,  
__make plans."  
__It may seem cold and uncaring,  
__but the fact of the matter is that life cannot be mapped out on an itinerary.  
__Life is always moving, always changing.  
__Unpredictable.  
__Inevitable.  
__And if you spend all of your time trying to control it,  
__life just may pass you by._

**_Rite Of Passage_**


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